


A Week and A Half 'Til Showtime

by JuiceCSushi



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Axel sings and plays the guitar, College, Crushes, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heartbreak, High School Crush, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Long-Distance Relationship, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Marijuana, Mild Sexual Content, Musicians, Past Child Abuse, Piercings, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Reunions, Rockband, Rockband AU, Roxas plays the bass, Secrets, Slow Burn, Smoking, Students, Swearing, Tattoos, Trauma, music references, stoners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 57,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24282736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuiceCSushi/pseuds/JuiceCSushi
Summary: A rock band is coming to Twilight Town Theater. Surprisingly enough, some of the band members have rather familiar faces. Will they all have enough time to really catch up between practices, work, and college? There's only a week and a half until they leave for their next venue...
Relationships: Axel & Demyx (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Hayner & Olette & Pence & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 41





	1. Wednesday: Enter ‘For Naught Baptiste’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's the day the new performers arrive at the theater.

“One vanilla latte with two pumps of toffee nut, hold the foam, for the reigning stage manager. Huzzah, Huzzah,” Roxas dipped into an exaggerated bow and offered the medium-sized cup he was holding with equal reverence.

“Why thank you, kind stagehand,” Olette took the cup from Roxas as he rose. She raised it to her lips and took a cautious sip before letting out a soft sigh, “Perfect.”

“Well, that’s great to hear. Maybe next time, you’ll hire yourself an intern to go run and get your coffee,” the blonde put his hands on his hips, “Having me do it is just plain demeaning. I have shit I need to do to you know”

“Oh shush. After a while, you get this look in your eyes that just screams, ‘I need some fresh air. The dust in the catwalk is taking years off my life.’ And then I assume you are thinking, ‘If only my beautiful, merciful boss would let me have a break and a chance to get out of this place,’” Olette smiled sweetly at her friend as she clasped the cup in both of her hands.

“One, you aren’t my boss Olette. You’re just stage managing for this next show. Two, if I wanted fresh air, I wouldn’t go to a crowded coffee shop and wait in line for THIRTY MINUTES. Finally, I happen to like it here, especially up in the catwalk,” Roxas countered her argument as he counted off on his fingers.

“I know, I know,” Olette laughed and waved a hand, “I just think you spend a little too much time in this dark place, void of that sweet, sweet sunlight. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but you are kinda a workaholic.”  
Roxas let out a soft sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

“It’s not,” Olette cooed and turned on her heel. She began to walk down the auditorium towards the stage, scooping up a clipboard from the armrest of a seat as she walked.

Olette had been a close friend of Roxas’s for a very long time. They had met in middle school, seeing as they were of the same age and therefore in the same grade. They had truly become close their freshman year when the two of them, along with two other students, Hayner and Pence, began to spend more and more time together. They all were the same age and all kids of the arts, more specifically choir. Slowly, the four of them became the best of friends and nearly inseparable. Even now, three years after graduating high school, the four of them made time to hang out regularly. Luckily, none of them had left Twilight Town yet. Hell, Olette and Roxas even worked to get hired at the same place, The Twilight Town Theater. And Hayner was his college roommate.

“Hold on, wait a minute!” Roxas quickly made way after her, following close on her heels, “I was wondering if you heard anything else from the big boss about this band that’s coming. What was their really stupid name again?”

“‘For Naught Baptiste’,” Olette spoke definitively, “And even if the name is a little dumb, they are an alternative rock band. Of course, they want a name that’s so outlandish it sticks.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Roxas muttered as he hopped up on to the stage, whereas Olette opted for the stairs. 

“So, any updates on this rock band,” Roxas continued as he followed a strutting Olette across the stage towards the right-wing. 

“Actually, they’re apparently coming today. The big boss talked to their manager, I think his name was Figbar or something.” 

Roxas couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter, which Olette pinched her mouth shut tightly in order to not follow suit. 

“ANYWAY...The concert is next week Saturday. Set up starts tomorrow, but the band arrives today. Apparently, some of the band members are locals, so they wanted to pay homage to their roots,” Olette explained what she knew as she handed the clipboard over to another worker, “You seem a little grumpy Rox. I thought you would be really excited about this one. Isn’t alternative rock something you listen to a lot?” 

“No. I mean yeah. Well, sort of. Anyway, I’m not grumpy. I just don’t like flying blind, especially when it comes to bands. Not to mention that they are only giving us about a week to get ready AND test everything. If they get pissy about not having a good set up, I’ll jump from the balcony,” Roxas spoke curtly as he gave a wave to the stagehand who walked off with the clipboard. 

“It’ll be fine! This is my first shot at being the stage manager, and I will NOT fuck this up,” Olette suddenly turned and poked her friend in the stomach, speaking lowly as she did so, “And you won’t either. Work as hard as you usually do, and be nice to them. Or better yet, just avoid them if you don’t vibe with them.” 

Roxas recoiled back slightly from the poke and grumbled, “As you wish your majesty.”

Suddenly, from both of their walkie talkies, a crackly voice rung out, “They’re here gang. The trailer just pulled up.”

“Showtime!” Olette sang out as she jumped up and swung an arm around Roxas’s neck, “Come on blondie, let’s go greet them.” 

Roxas would be scoff came out as a slight laugh. He shook his head and put an arm around her waist, giving her a side hug, “Let’s go make sure you make a great first impression, aye?” 

“What would I do without you?” Olette hummed and quickly grabbed Roxas’s wrist after releasing his neck. 

Before Roxas could respond, he was whipped off after Olette, stumbling as he went.

Olette and Roxas, along with the rest of the stage workers on hand, made their way to the back of the theater where trailers can pull right up and connect to a large loading area. The loading area was just beyond the backstage. 

By the time Roxas and Olette got there, the trailer was already hooked up to one of the loading bays and people were looking antsy to get to work. It had been two weeks since they had a performance at the theater. But it was two weeks too long. 

From a side door, the first person to enter from outside the theater was a tall man with a long, graying black hair tied into a ponytail. He looked rather easy-going, his face donning a laidback smile, but the eyepatch he wore made him look immediately more shifty than he probably really was. Judging by the earpiece with an attached microphone, Roxas assumed this was the manager the big boss has talked to. 

“Shit. I really should have remembered the name Marluxia gave me,” Olette hissed under her breath, causing Roxas to look at her with concern. She seemed to already be embarrassed and frustrated with herself. 

“Calm down. Be personable and friendly. He’ll introduce himself if you introduce yourself,” Roxas tried to give his friend a little air under her wings, sounding as encouraging as he could, “You got this Olette. This is what your infectious, relatable attitude was made for.” 

Olette looked to her friend and gave him a weary smile, “Thanks, Roxas.” 

“Of course, now go get ‘em, tiger,” Roxas gave one last encouraging hoot before gently pushing her back, causing her to start making her way towards the band’s manager.

From Roxas’s vantage point, it looked like things were going smoothly. From their body language, Roxas suspected that Olette had introduced herself successfully and the two of them were already discussing things about the coming concert in a friendly, workplace manner. Long story short, his friend had nothing to worry about, as Roxas had expected. 

Olette seemed to have turned and instructed some of their colleagues to help unload the trailer, so Roxas moved to join them. He never liked standing around when he could be useful. 

Roxas followed his colleagues into the trailer and looked around the dimly lit holding container. It looked as if things were haphazardly put into place from their last venue. Must have not had a lot of time between this concert and the last. Either that or they were just lazy. 

The blonde shrugged inwardly and moved to grab ahold of the handles on an amplifier. There were some very cheesy decals slapped on to the free space that wasn’t dials or mesh, to which Roxas promptly ignored since he decided it was best to not judge the taste of the band until he heard them, no matter how hard it was to stop himself from grimacing at the terrible music-related puns the stickers displayed. 

He lifted the amp and turned to begin hauling it out of the trailer and into the loading bay, following a trail of other workers hauling other various musical equipment down the trailer’s ramp.

“Hey! Hey, be careful with that amp!” A voice shouted from the left of Roxas, causing him to jump. Here we go again. It was always band members who rubbed him the wrong way.  
But hey, that voice was almost familiar. 

Roxas grumpily turned his head just in time to see a taller man with a distinctly punk, shaved hairstyle approach him at a fast clip. He had a guitar case swung over one of his shoulders. 

“That amp took me FOREVER to save up for. You’re gonna ding her up. Give ‘er here...wait a minute. No way! Roxas?!” The man stopped and stared at Roxas with a slight gape to his maw. 

“Demyx?” Roxas scoffed out in disbelief, “Holy shit I haven’t seen you since high school! You’re part of this band?” 

“Hell yeah I am, dude. What are you doing here?” Demyx asked in disbelief before looking at the amplifier, “Actually, hold up. You should set that down. It really did cost me an arm and a leg.” 

“Right, sorry,” Roxas gently set the amp down, treating it with the utmost respect, “love the decals...” 

“Right!? They give her so much character,” Demyx laughed. It didn’t seem like he noticed the sarcasm in Roxas’s voice, “So anyway, back to what you are doing here. I assumed you we be off in your own band. You were a little musical god back in high school.” 

“Not all of us can afford to hit the road right after school,” Roxas chuckled, “I’m juggling between college and this job now. I’m, in layman’s terms, a stagehand.” 

“No way...Come on Rox you can do better than that. You used to blow minds with your bass playing. You should be up on stage, not behind it,” Demyx threw an arm around Roxas’s shoulder and looked off into the distance as he said these words. 

“I actually happen to like my job. I’m studying performance tech so working at this theater gives me tons of experience,” Roxas grumbled as he ducked out from Demyx’s arm. 

“Suit yourself,” the taller guy shrugged, dropping the argument quickly, “It’s good to see you man. I kinda miss the high school music family we had going on back then. We were all pretty crazy talented huh?” 

Roxas laughed softly. He often thought back on his high school life. His free time was always swallowed up with practices, concerts, and jam sessions back then. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

“You saw Olette right? She’s stage managing for you guys,” Roxas pointed over to Olette, who was still discussing something with the band’s manager. 

“Yeah, I saw her talking to Xigbar and I said hi briefly, but she seemed REALLY busy and wrapped up in all that funky technical stuff, so I didn’t pester her further,” Demyx shrugged, “Shame, she’s really grown into herself.” 

Demyx bounced his eyebrows at Roxas, to which he rolled his own in return. He had never thought of his friend in that way. 

The ‘rockstar’ suddenly smacked his forehead, realizing something, “Hold on wait! You gotta go see Axel! He’s in the band too!”

Roxas felt like he had been smacked across the face. 

“...seriously?” Roxas’s voice cracked. 

“Yeah! We both joined Baptiste right after high school and we’ve been living it up ever since. But man he’ll fucking flip if he sees you. He always thought you were the coolest underclassman,” Demyx laughed and slapped Roxas’s back, causing him to stumble slightly. 

“He said that...? N-nevermind. Demyx I gotta get back to work. We can all catch up when I’m off the clock,” Roxas explained as he looked at the trailer, which was quickly clearing out without his help. 

“Aw come on dude. He’s just out having a quick smoke. You gotta go say hi,” Demyx whined, “It’s like we’re getting our old Spring Arts Festival rock band back together.” 

“No. It’s like you guys are in a band and I’m a stagehand. You’ll be here for a week and a half and then you’ll shove off while I get ready for the next performers coming this way,” Roxas murmured, starting to really get irritated with how he’s being held up. 

“Ouch. That’s cold man...” Demyx sighed, then his eyes trailed off behind Roxas. He suddenly lit up and began pointing furiously at Roxas, bouncing up and down on his heels. 

“What are you...fuck it I don’t have time for this,” Roxas turned around to head back towards the trailer but immediately froze in his tracks.

“No. Way. You’re joking me.” 

A tall, lanky redhead spoke as he made his way towards the two of them. He was wearing shades and a leather jacket, the look really driving home the rockstar aesthetic. 

“Roxas, holy shit is that really you little man?” the man stopped right before Roxas and bent down slightly, taking off the shades, “It’s me. Axel. Do you remember me?” 

Roxas instinctively took a step back and scowled internally. Even now they still have a crazy height difference. 

“I don’t think anyone could forget you, even if they hoped and prayed they could,” Roxas gave the man a wry smile. 

Axel let out a hearty laugh and suddenly pulled Roxas into a tight, friendly hug. 

Roxas got a strong wif of cologne and hair gel as his face crashed into the taller man’s shoulder. 

“Oh shit, I can’t believe you’re still in town. This gig just got way better,” Axel pushed Roxas back gently by his shoulders to get a good look at him, “How have you been man? Do you work here?” 

“Yeah, Olette and I both work here,” Roxas gestured over to where she was, not realizing she was gone at his point. 

“No way. I expected you’d be off on your own adventure,” Axel laughed again, his green eyes twinkling. 

“Funny. I’ve heard that twice today now...” Roxas murmured, “I’m in college right now, and I’m working here for job experience in my major.” 

“Ah. Well shit, I’m proud of you for going to college. Aiming to get a stable job I see. But hey, do you still sing and play that bass of yours?” Axel cocked an eyebrow, finally letting go of the blonde. 

“Sometimes. Listen, I am still on the clock. I really gotta get back to work. We don’t have much time between now and the concert. There’s a lot of work to do,” Roxas took another step back, making sure not to bump into Demyx. 

Axel looked to Demyx, and then back to Roxas, “Shit. Sorry for distracting you, Roxy. We’ll get a chance to catch up right?” His voice seemed genuine enough and he kept that trademark charming smile on. It was the same as it was years ago. 

“Yeah, sure,” Roxas gave a sheepish smile back. Hearing Axel call him Roxy again shot his mind back into his Junior year. He could almost hear ‘Don’t Lose my Number’ reverberating through Demyx’s tiny basement., “I uh, we’ll talk later. Good luck you guys. Congrats on living the dream,” he talked to them as he started to walk off. 

“Roxas wait!” Axel shouted, which caused Roxas to freeze with a wince. He’s gonna hear it for not helping out at all. 

Axel jogged up and thrust a phone towards Roxas. A phone charm of Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle dangled off of it. 

“Hey, I always regretted deleting all the underclassman’s phone numbers from my phone after I graduated. You mind giving me yours again?” Axel ran a hand through his spiked hair as he looked at Roxas hopefully. 

“...yeah, no problem,” Roxas murmured. This situation would have been a gift from God, had he still been a nervous teen. He took the phone and quickly punched his phone number in the contacts. He caught a glimpse of Axel’s phone background as he handed it back, “nice...dragon background.” 

Axel let out a dry laugh, “Oh you saw that?...” 

Roxas could feel the awkwardness electrifying the air, “...it suits you. You’ve always been sort of a...‘fiery’ person.” 

Axel seemed to recover a little at that comment, “Yeah. I also enjoy hoarding gold now.” 

“Seriously?” Roxas laughed, his eyes widening a little. 

“No, but wouldn’t that be sick?” Axel joked as he gave Roxas a lopsided grin.

Roxas’s walkie talkie suddenly crackled to life. 

“Roxas. We need you in the light booth ASAP. We want to discuss the lighting rig. Shake a leg.” 

Roxas unhooked his walkie talkie and brought it up to his lips, “10/4, I’m on my way.”

Axel gently punched Roxas’s shoulder, getting the smaller man’s attention, “Look who’s all-important now...Talk to you later?” 

“Yeah. Sounds good. I’ll see you around Axel,” Roxas spoke softer than he meant to and began to walk off, then quickly turned, “Oh, and see you Demyx! Can’t wait to hear how you’ve improved!” 

“I’ll blow your fucking toolbelt off man!” Demyx responded and waved a hand furiously as Roxas ran off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Reference - “Don’t Lose My Number” by Phil Collins
> 
> Thank you for reading the first chapter of my fanfic. I recently got back into Kingdom Hearts and have been inspired to write something about an old ‘otp’ from my childhood. I was also inspired by my high school life, which was all consumed by the music and drama departments. I remember back on that part of my high school fondly, and I regret giving up that part of my life.
> 
> I value your support, and I hope to update this regularly till I finish it.  
> \- JuiceCSushi


	2. Thursday: Just Like Old Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While For Naught Baptise begins to practice, Roxas and the other theater techs have been getting to work on getting the show ready. This doesn't mean that Axel isn't trying to find the time to catch up with his old underclassman pal.

Roxas rose to his feet and wiped the sweat off of his knitted brow. The metal grating of the catwalk creaked under his weight, but the eerie noise didn’t bother him. He was sure the thing would hold for longer than he was going to live.

The blonde shifted a wrench from his right hand into his left as he peered over the railing at one of the lights he had just hung. He wanted to make sure it was going to aim at the stage at the correct angle when it was on. 

After he had made it up into the light booth the other day, he had discussed a few different lighting rigs with the other light techs and the man who was going to be doing the lights for the show. Since they didn’t have much time, they were gonna have to cycle through the different rigs until they found the ones that worked just right. They seemed to be flying blind this time around, so the light positions and color coordinations were going to be a lot of trial and error. This all essentially boiled down to him being up in the catwalk quite a bit.

The sound of an amplifier reverb snapped Roxas out of his daze.

“Alright boys, let's take it from the top and break this stage in.”

Roxas walked a few paces across the catwalk and leaned over the other railing to look down at centerstage from above.  
The stage was already set up with guitar stands, mic stands, the drum set, and various types of sound equipment scattered about. It wasn’t the final set up; it was more so mess, but it was good enough to let the band get some practice in.

Roxas couldn’t help but smile softly as he gazed down at Demyx and Axel, each with a respective guitar in hand. It was a very nostalgic thing to see. He leaned on the railing and began to inspect the band members with a more critical eye. He did know a thing or two about music, rock music in particular.

Demyx really did look like he had improved since high school, which should be a given since he’s a professional now. 

Roxas watched the blonde guitarist’s fingers dance across the strings of his instrument, which was also gunked up with different colorful decals. It seemed to be the same guitar he had gotten for his graduation party three years back, if he wasn’t mistaken. Roxas could remember back when Demyx used to freeze up when he messed up a lick. He would get so thrown off his groove, it would take him a few measures to start playing again, sometimes even up to eight bars at the most. Luckily, Demyx seemed to have a lucky streak when it came to actual concerts. At this point, he seemed to be much more familiar with his instrument. He was much more loose and if he was making any mistakes, Roxas couldn't tell.

With an approving nod, Roxas’s eyes traveled to the drum set. The man sitting there had long, blue hair and piercings. He wore a muscle shirt that showed off the arms he had built up from years of intense drumming, no doubt. His demeanor was cool and even, but Roxas could see the fire in his eyes. He definitely enjoyed what he did. Not to mention the beats coming from him were absolute fire. Roxas had learned that his man’s name was Saix, and he had been the one to bring the whole band together.

With a more critical eye, Roxas looked down at the bass player. He was the youngest of the bunch and he went by the name Zexion. His hair fell over one of his eyes in a stereotypical emo manner and his outfit reflected it. He wore a t-shirt of a famous metal band, his jeans were ripped and he was decked out with lots of accessories. With this considered, he didn’t seem to quite play the part. His demeanor screamed ‘I’m the quiet one’, and he focused solely on his bass when playing. He did seem to be unbelievably talented though. He had all of the technical skills down to a science, but he was stiff and lacked emotion in his playing. 

Roxas quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. It wasn’t his place to judge the bass player. He wasn’t the one in a band.

Finally, Roxas’s eyes trailed to the ‘main attraction’. With swagger and a cocky attitude, Axel made his way across the stage, guitar in hand. He didn’t have a mic pack set up yet, so he wasn’t singing currently, but he was playing backup guitar. He never was the absolute best at it, but he made up for it with his stage presence. 

Roxas couldn’t help but stare at his old classmate wistfully as he realized that not much had changed. He still knew how to turn heads and put on one hell of a show. Even during practice, he was giving it his all, though it probably came naturally to him. 

Axel moved across the stage towards Demyx with a cocky smile on his face. Immediately, the two of them played off each other's energy, bouncing and rocking to the sounds of their instruments intertwining. The way Axel commanded the stage brought out the best in Demyx, their musical chemistry being something that only occurred once in a blue moon. 

After the two of them finished off their playful stage battle, Axel moved on to the back of the stage. He hopped up on the raised platform that housed the drum set and leaned his back towards the drummer dramatically. Axel gave Saix a look that made the drummer roll his eyes, but the small smile that spread across his face was enough of an indication that Axel had won him over quickly. 

The redhead let out a jubilant laugh as he gave the drummer a wink and made his way to the bassist as a final stop before center stage. As the lead got closer, Zexion seemed to get more and more nervous. His performance wasn’t faltering because of it, but it just seemed like no matter what Axel did, he just couldn’t vibe with Zexion like the others. He was just too stiff and focused. This didn’t throw the lead off his game though. He just shrugged with a content, closed eye grin, and made his way back to center stage.

“Not gonna lie, they sound pretty good,” Roxas scoffed to himself. He had heard For Naught Baptiste got picked up by Xenmes and Organization Records, which was a pretty good record company as far as Roxas was concerned. The band seemed to be right in between being unknown by the world and the next big thing. And Roxas was rooting for them.

The song came to a conclusion and Roxas heard a few eccentric claps from below.

“Great job you guys! You sound amazing already. Need anything to be switched around to make the ‘flow’ better?” the sound of Olette’s voice echoed up into the catwalk in conjunction with sneakers stepping across the stage.

Roxas eased himself onto his back into a lying position. He began to work on changing the position of a different light. Everyone had a role to play right now, and he couldn’t get swept away by the grandeur of imagining he was in a rock band with his old classmates.

“Can’t think of anything right now, how about the rest of you?” Axel responded to Olette’s question. Judging by the lack of follow up answers, Roxas assumed everyone was good for now.

“Great. How about we get you guys fitted with mic packs and test those out next? Then you can practice with vocals as well,” Olette sounded content and excited from where Roxas was.

“Sounds good to me,” Demyx laughed, “Careful Axel, I might just outshine you~” 

“That’s rich. Olette, do me a favor and mute Demyx’s mic beforehand. Saix has backups covered,” Axel hummed in an amused way.

“Aye fuck you,” Demyx didn’t sound too upset. There were some scuffling sounds though, alluding to a small spat going on down below.

“Alright, let's focus boys. Saix, come down from there. We got a mic for you too,” Olette chimed, “Put this behind your ear, Axel. Bend down a little, I can’t reach. There we go and put this tape there. Perfect!”

“I still get a stand mic as well though, right?” Axel sounded a little bit like an expectant child.

“Yes sir, but we want this for when you’re playing guitar at the same time. You kill it the way you play the stage. Making you stand still center stage would be a travesty,” Olette explained.

“Just make sure you explain the stand mic blindspot to him Olette!” Roxas called from the catwalk as he wrenched on the light, turning it so it faced stage right where Zexion would stand.

“Woah, was that Roxas? Where is he?” Demyx sounded surprised enough that Roxas had to turn on his side to look down at them.

“Up here,” Roxas laughed as Demyx looked around him in a confused manner.

“Look up idiot, or I’ll drop my wrench on you,” Roxas warned but didn’t sound malicious. 

Everyone, including Olette and the band members he didn’t know, looked up at him, which caused Roxas to give them a weak grin and wave his wrench, “Hey team.”

“Roxy! How’d you get up there?” Axel gave a chuckle and shielded his eyes from the lights that were set up as he looked in Roxas’s direction.

“A ladder,” Roxas said bluntly and laid back on his back to continue to fiddle with the light, “You’ve been up in a catwalk before Axel. Nothing new.”

“It’s been a while,” Axel mused as he ran a hand through his gelled spikes, “Long gone are my days of ditching class to smoke up in the school’s catwalk.”

Roxas shook his head disapprovingly, but he was grinning towards the ceiling.

“But I guess that wasn’t a case for an honors student like you,” Axel teased.

“Hey. Should we get back to practice?” A low voice asked evenly. Roxas assumed it was the drummer, Saix.

“Y-yeah. Sorry... Got your mic set up man?” Axel asked. There was then a brief pause before Demyx called out.

“Listen close Roxas, this one’s dedicated to you!” 

“I can feel my wrench slipping. Shame if it hit you in the head,” Roxas joked, waggling his wrench off into space.

There were a few laughs from below before the music kicked up again.

\--------------------

Roxas unhooked his toolbelt and set it down on a table in the green room, after which he made his way to the men’s dressing room. It was already being overrun with the band's stuff, so he decided to clear out the cubby area he had claimed as his own in the two weeks it had been in between shows. He grabbed an almost empty protein shaker, his phone, his car keys, his wallet, and a hoodie he wore when outside. He may be sweating his ass off busting his balls here, but the crisp autumn air outside still bit like a bitch.

On his break, Roxas planned to go get some snacks from his car and disappear into the vast theater from some downtime. He really did love how For Naught Baptiste was sounding, but being above them working on lights for hours on end left his ears ringing. He would have to remember earbuds next time.

Roxas made his way towards the propped open men’s dressing door, which was left open to air out. He turned the corner just in time to smack straight into someone's chest. Everything he had piled into his arms spilled onto the floor in succession and Roxas’s backed up as a form of recoil.

“Shit Saix, you gotta watch out,” Axel’s voice caught Roxas’s ears, “Oh shit, you’re phone!”

“...Sorry kid,” Saix murmured as Roxas reopened his eyes and looked up at the man. He and Axel had to be about the same height.

“It’s no big deal. My fault actually,” Roxas decided not to argue with the man. He wasn’t gonna lie, the blue-haired drummer did intimidate him a little bit.

“Here Roxy...” Axel had already picked up his shit in record time, “But...shit your phone has a huge crack in it.”

“Nah, that’s from when I dropped it from the catwalk. Not even my ‘bulletproof’ case could recover from that,” Roxas laughed dryly as he collected his stuff from Axel, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Axel flashed him a lopsided grin, “Hey, are you on break?”

“Yeah, just got on it,” Roxas began to back his way down the hall slowly, “Just going to my car for a sec.”

“Hey, we’re taking a break too! How about we take this time to catch up? I’ll go grab Demyx,” Axel followed after him slightly.

“Yeah. Sounds great,” Roxas murmured and tried his best to smile, ‘So goes my peaceful break...’ He thought to himself.

“Awesome! Head to your car, I’ll meet you out there with Demyx...Where’s your car?” Axel asked. He seemed pretty excited, which made Roxas loosen up a little bit.

“Out back in the employee lot next to the loading bay. It’s the white jeep, I’ll pop the trunk for us to sit... I guess,” Roxas tried to sound as equally enthused.

“Perfect,” Axel laughed and moved to walk back towards the stage. He gave Saix a quick passing look and a squeeze on the shoulder before heading back through the doorway.

Saix let out a soft sigh, then looked to Roxas. He gave Roxas a cold gaze that caused his breathing to cease for a second before walking past him, just barely missing hitting his shoulder. What was that about?

Roxas let out a tired sigh before making his way to the back entrance, arms full.

\--------------------

“So, how’s college?” Demyx was the one to break the awkward silence.

The three guys had somehow squeezed shoulder to shoulder into the truck of Roxas’s jeep. Roxas had offered them some snacks he had stashed in a mini cooler, and the two rockstars had in turn offered him some beer, which he had to turn down. He wasn’t a weeknight drinker. Something he had picked up from being an honors student, he guessed.

“I got a light load this semester, thankfully. This job counts for a lot of credits towards my major. They really like to see job experience,” Roxas explained, popping a pretzel into his mouth, “Most of my classes are early morning so I come here after I’m done.”

“You always were a good student,” Axel scoffed and ruffled Roxas’s hair affectionately, an action that made Roxas regret being put in the middle.

“Not all of us could skirt through high school by the seats of our pants and come out the other end rockstars,” Roxas shooed away his hand.

“You totally could have!” Demyx countered, his lips on the rim of his beer, “I can’t believe you totally blanked my mind when Saix said he was just missing a bassist. You could have been part of Baptiste!”

“Well, if you had asked I don’t know if I would have turned you down,” Roxas laughed dryly, remembering how he shared their dream of being a rockstar in high school. It was a dream that fizzled out rather quickly as he learned how the world actually worked, “ Besides, I actually really like what I’m doing. I’m always close to the action, whether it be music or theater. I have met so many interesting people and learned so many new things. It really is right up my alley.”

Demyx looked like he was about to protest but Axel cut him off quickly.

“That’s great dude... You’re really doing the right thing. If we flop, Demyx and I are fucked,” Axel laughed.

“We really did bet everything on this band, huh?” Demyx laughed along with him. Roxas couldn’t understand how they could be so nonchalant about that fact.

“Anyway, how are the rest of your little quartet you used to be conjoined at the hip with?” Axel asked, “I see Olette’s here. How about Wild and Pudgy?”

Roxas quickly shot Axel a glance, “Don’t fucking call Pence that.”

Axel immediately recoiled in surprise and quickly added, “Sorry man, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Roxas let out a soft sigh, “It’s...fine. He doesn’t get offended by things like that, but that doesn’t mean I won’t defend him when he can’t himself.”

Axel looked a little thrown off his game. He did genuinely seem sorry.

“Anyway. Hayner is my roommate. He’s studying to be a physical therapist. He’s actually been helping Pence and me at the gym on weekends. As for Pence, he’s studying music education and minoring in songwriting. He was a big orchestra fan and he loves kids, so he wants to be an orchestra teacher and compose on the side. He’s got himself a girlfriend too.”

“Ey, good for him,” Demyx toasted the air with his drink, “Both of them seem to have everything figured out.”

“I mean we are all juniors who will be graduating next year. We kinda have to have it together,” Roxas laughed softly.

“How about Olette? She in college too?” Axel asked, trying to redeem himself.

“Yep. She’s majoring in business management and minoring in jazz performance,” Roxas smiled, “It might take her a little while longer to graduate though because of this job. She works herself to the bone, she does.”

“Oh right, she did play a pretty mean jazz piano back then...,” Demyx set his can down and looked to Roxas, “Right now, things don’t feel so much different from back then. But things really are, aren’t they?”

“They don’t have to be,” Axel said in a way that got both Roxas and Demyx to look at him.

“I mean, for this week plus a few days, we can make it just like old times,” Axel said with vigor, looking at the two of them hopefully, “I mean hey, Roxy will be around all the time right? And we’ll have to practice like hell to accommodate for how little time we have. So we can hang out whenever we get a chance.”

Roxas couldn’t help but laugh at his wistful tone.

“Hey! What’s so funny?” Axel shoved Roxas lightly, causing him to bump into Demyx.

“You’re the one who said you’ll have to ‘practice like hell’. And I got my hands full with getting your band ready as well. We won’t have a lot of time to ‘be like old times’,” Roxas shrugged, being painfully honest.

“Bullshit, we’ll make time,” Axel grinned at the blondes, “When did I ever play by the rules?”

“You’re willing to put your band on the line to spend time with me?” Roxas scoffed, meaning it as a joke.

“Of course. Regardless of how much time has passed, we’re still buddies. Got it memorized?” Axel’s genuineness caused Roxas’s breath to catch in his throat. He really didn’t have anything to say. And Demyx was only adding a goofy smile to the mix.

After a while, Roxas peered at Axel from the corner of his eye. The redhead was sipping from his beer, a lit cigarette wedged between his fore and middle finger of the same hand. The orange sky of twilight town in the backdrop almost made the man look like a painting done by some closeted delinquent. It was almost poetic and hard to look away from.

“The face tattoos are new,” Roxas said quietly, not entirely meaning to speak it out loud.

“So you DID notice!” Axel turned to Roxas with a wide grin, getting closer to him ever so slightly, “I was thinking you didn’t like them since you didn’t say anything before.”

“I never said I DID like them,” Roxas joked, popping a few raisins into his cheeky maw.

Axel pouted, “Aw come on...”

“Well, they are a conversation starter. Like, why in the world did you decide to get tattoos on your face?” Roxas hummed as he looked to the sky,

“It was one of those decisions you make under the influence and realize that you are actually a genius even when you’re not in the right mind,” Axel murmured and looked to the sky as well.

“Oh? So do you have a lot of rockstar party stories full of drugs and sex?” Roxas turned back to Axel and asked, speaking with a mix of genuine curiosity and sarcasm.

Axel looked to him briefly out of the corner of his eye, then back to the sky in a sort of shy manner, moving his free hand to his mane of hair, “I’m... not too sure how to answer that. It depends on what you’ll think of me.” He turned to face Roxas fully.

Their eyes met, and Roxas was thrust into a vivid flashback of watching a younger Axel from a distance. He had an acoustic guitar in hand, and a small flock of high school groupies around him, swooning as he picked at the strings and hummed. Axel had looked up right at Roxas, flashed a debonair smile, and winked at him. Roxas, being a young and confused teen, naturally quickly ran off with a flush to his cheeks. Was it embarrassment? He didn’t know at the time.

“I’ll assume the worst and we’ll go from there,” Roxas gave him a cocky grin, his voice a little bit more playful than he meant.

Axel grinned back, but his eyes drifted past Roxas. His expression hardened and he mouthed something like ‘I’ll kill you’.

“What?” Roxas murmured and narrowed his eyes.

“Nothing!” Axel said quickly and held up his hands defensively.

Roxas heard a snicker from Demyx beside him. He sighed and looked at his phone in a nonchalant way. He felt his stomach drop.

“Shit! I gotta get back to work!” Roxas leaped to his feet, “Alright kids, outta my car.” 

His thirty-minute break had someone dragged into almost an hour break without him realizing.

“Aren’t you the kid here, college kid?” Demyx hopped out of the trunk with his drink in hand.

“No sass. Get back to being successful musicians so I can go back to being a grunt laborer,” Roxas spoke sarcastically as he shut the trunk after Axel’s lanky frame ducked out and he got to his feet.

“You know Roxas, you’re always free to come join us if you wanna sing or play your bass. As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of the band this week,” Axel took a drag from his cigarette and spoke in a tone that danced on the line of friendliness and tenderness.

Roxas was, again, lost for words. He settled with, “In your dreams spitfire,” and locked his car up.

Axel looked both endeared and upset. It made Roxas’s chest clench.

“See you two later. Make sure to recycle those cans,” Roxas gave them a wave and began to run off back into the theater.

He just barely caught Demyx saying, “We’ve been seeing a lot of his back, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! I really hope I can accomplish all I want to in twelve chapters, but I don't want this to drag on longer than it needs to, so I'm going to do my best to condense everything. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and thank you so much for reading. Stay tuned for the next chapter :)  
> \- JuiceCSushi


	3. Friday: Shouldn't You Be Practicing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very tired Roxas gets a helping hand.

Roxas scrolled idly through his phone, his notes app open and casting a dull light on to his face. He was in one of the stage’s wings, which was kept dim as is to make sure the performers and crew were kept out of the audience's view. There were some running lights on now, but they were old and hardly did shit to illuminate anything.

The blonde highlighted a line on his phone and chose the strikethrough option. He could have just deleted it, but he always wanted to keep records of what he had done to make sure he doesn’t redo something unnecessarily, or forget something crucial. The particular line he crossed off at this point was ‘check electrical hookups’. It was an awfully arbitrary statement, but Roxas knew exactly what he meant by it and that was all that mattered.

He continued to scroll back and forth through his To-Do list, contemplating what he should do next. Normally he would just go in order, but right now he was just looking for things he was mentally prepared to do.

He had a rather long, rough morning at college, and that, coupled with the fact he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, was making his motivation almost nonexistent. Seeing as the rock concert was incoming fast, this was not a good state of mind to be in. There was still so much to do, and whether it was odds and ends or actually crucial didn't matter. It still needed to be done. ALL of it. Not to mention he really loved his job and this theater, and he was one of the hardest working team members there, so all of the pressure on him at this moment was almost suffocating. He didn’t want to let the band down or make the theater look bad. 

Roxas rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before pinching the bridge of his nose with a soft groan. He knew he was psyching himself out, but it just came as part of the package of working oneself to the bone.

He finally settled on ‘set up curtains’. The rock band didn’t really need curtains, so he was going to either hoist them up out of view or tie them off into the wings somehow. He didn’t have to mess with the scrim, thank god. That was on someone else’s list.

Roxas shoved his phone into his back pocket and walked a short way towards the very frontmost curtain. He searched around to see if there was a way he could tie the curtain off so it was further off the stage and more into the wings, but he didn’t see a way that allowed him to cut corners while also having it look presentable. This meant he’d have to lower the bar holding the curtain, tie the curtain to it and hoist it back up. He would have to do the same for the curtain behind it as well. It was going to take a good chunk of time to do with only one person, but at least the band wasn’t practicing on the stage today. He wasn’t really quite sure where they were.

Just a few steps behind Roxas, farther into the wing, were the tied off ropes that held the curtain bars high into the air. The blonde made his way to the set up of ropes, and he traced the different ropes with his eyes until he found the one that connected to the correct bar. The next step was tricky, and he needed to be careful and concentrated to make sure he didn’t let the bar come crashing down onto the stage.

Roxas grabbed a firm hold of the rope and wrapped it around his arm once for good measure. He began to undo its previous tie and gently lower the bar towards the stage. The curtain, which had already been drawn shut so it draped across the length of the stage, began to bunch on the floor. He wasn’t all that concerned about getting the curtains dirty. They kept the stage pretty clean at this theater.

Roxas’s work induced trace was broken when he felt two hands on his shoulders. Someone leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Careful, don’t let go.”

Roxas’s grip only faltered enough to let the bar make one jerky motion downward. It quickly settled into a gentle back and forth sway.

The blonde cranked his head to look over his shoulder but didn’t meet with the perpetrator's face. He still felt the hands on his shoulders though, so he quickly whipped his head the other way. Again, he was only met with the dim back wall of the wing.

“Axel, I think I’m actually going to kill you,” Roxas hissed and whipped his head the other way once more. This time, the cheeky redhead was staring back, looking rather pleased with himself.

“I’m just messing with you. Your back was turned and the opportunity was oh so inviting,” Axel snickered and let go of his friend’s shoulders, “Right of me to assume you’d be off on your own working in some dark, dusty corner.”

“And I guess it’s bold of me to assume you’d be out of my hair for the day. Shouldn’t you be practicing?” Roxas grumbled, the weariness he felt all day hitting him like a truck once again as he turned back to face the curtain.

“We take breaks. Something I’d recommend,” Axel murmured and walked around to Roxas’s other side, “You don’t look so good, buddy. Are you doing alright?”

“Just peachy,” Roxas’s tone said ‘drop it’, and Axel obliged.

Things fell weirdly quiet as Roxas returned to lowering the bar. After a moment, Roxas looked out of the corner of his eye at Axel, who was still and silent.

The man’s eyes were looking at Roxas, but not at his face. They were trained lower towards his chest region.

“Has something interesting caught your eye?” Roxas accused.

“I mean, I was gonna ask if you needed help, but it seems like you got it covered,” Axel’s tone didn’t sound completely innocent, and Roxas involuntarily felt his face heat up.

“I told you I’ve been working out regularly. This is nothing,” Roxas tried to sound nonchalant but his voice cracked.

The smirk that stretched on Axel’s face hinted that he noticed.

“A-actually, I could use your help if you’re offering,” Roxas recovered and took a step back towards the rope tie-offs. He began to fasten the coarse cord so that the lowered bar was secured. He could have sworn he felt Axel’s eye on his back.

“Yeah, anything for you man. What can I do?” Axel asked. His voice returned to being comical and genuine.

“Help me wrap up and tie the curtain to the bar so I can hoist it up out of view,” Roxas explained, walking over to the curtain to point out the multiple small cords already attached to the bar, “We can just use these, but make sure to tie the knots tight enough they won’t come undone, but also not too tight so it’s hard to untie them. Understand?”

“Not too tight, but not too loose. Gotcha Goldilocks,” Axel mused and immediately got to work.

Roxas let out a tired exhale, but had to smile. Even if it was Axel, he was happy to have the help. Things would hopefully go much quicker this way.

-

The two guys worked in relative silence for a while, other than Roxas occasionally pointing out ties that Axel would have to do again. It didn’t take long for them to get into a steady rhythm though.

“Soooo...” Axel broke the silence, “Got any socials I can follow?”

“Got any... what?” Roxas peered around the bar to look at the taller man in confusion.

“You know, like Twitter or Insta or something?” Axel asked hopefully.

“Oh. No, I deleted those a while back,” Roxas deadpanned.

“Ah. Bummer. But now it makes sense why I couldn’t find you,” Axel laughed.

“You were trying to find me? Doesn’t that count as stalking to some degree,” Roxas interrogated, but there was no venom behind it.

“No no! That wasn’t my intention. I just kinda wanted to see what I had missed out on. And, you know, make sure we keep in touch,” Axel explained, then cursed under his breath and untied a cord to redo it.  
“You got my number dude. I’ll answer if you call,” Roxas murmured quietly.

“I know. It’s just not the same,” Axel pouted, “I bet you’re pretty photogenic.”

“Oh you flatter me,” Roxas spoke in a monotone.

Axel chuckled and took a step back from his handiwork with a pleased nod, “Seems like I’ve seen more of your brother than you recently.”

Roxas’s head quickly snapped to look at the redheaded rockstar and he hissed, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Axel seemed awfully surprised, then realized with a scoff, “Oh shit, I forgot how much of a mom you were to Sora. That’s hilarious that you still are, and also so cute. Aren’t you, like, twins born a few minutes apart?”

“Aye, stay on topic. How have you been seeing Sora?” Roxas interrogated once again.

“Well shit, Riku and I stayed mutuals after I graduated, and every once in awhile he’ll post pictures of Sora on his socials. And I say ‘once in a while’ with a grain of salt. A very big grain of salt,” Axel snickered knowingly.

Roxas groaned and rolled his eyes, “So... you noticed too?”

“Fuck, I’m pretty sure your bro is the only one who doesn’t know,” Axel laughed as he made his way towards Roxas, who was now in the process of lifting the tied off curtain back into the air, “And it’ll probably stay that way huh? The ocean will freeze over before Riku confesses.”

“And boy do I hope it stays that way. That guy is trouble, and Sora doesn’t need that,” Roxas pulled at the rope with more vigor, suddenly feeling a burst of energy from somewhere.

“Ah come on Roxy, hasn’t your bro been friends with him forever? If Riku was really trouble, Sora would be tainted by now. Besides that...”, Axel leaned in towards Roxas’s ear and spoke huskily, “When has a little trouble ever hurt anyone?~”

Roxas felt something akin to lightning running along his spine, but he wasn’t going to be swayed so easily by Axel’s comment.

“Are you saying I’m supposed to just let Riku hook up with my brother? Besides, Sora’s already got his eyes on Kairi and I’m positive it’s mutual. He only keeps me up on the phone till two in the morning EVERY NIGHT going on about how he feels about her, trying to figure out what he should do and if what he’s feeling is love and whatnot. And he spends every second he’s not with Riku with her,” Roxas explained as he hoisted the bar up with exceptional speed and tied it off once again.

“From what you’ve said, it sounds like Sora doesn’t know what he wants himself,” Axel offered and gestured to the ropes, “Mind if I lower the next one?”

“I guess... but let me tell you that showing off isn’t going to get you anywhere. If that bar comes crashing down on the stage and all of the equipment on it, you’re gonna owe this place a lot of cash and ruin my reputation,” Roxas warned, pointing an accusatory finger at the nonchalantly smiling redhead.

“Don’t be so uptight Roxy. Put a little faith in me,” Axel looked at the smaller man hopefully.

Roxas sighed and pointed one of the ropes, “This one here will lower the bar. Get a good hold of it before you untie the knot and make sure to lower the bar slowly.”

“Yes sir,” Axel nodded in understanding, saluted, and then did exactly as he was instructed by the smaller man. He seemed to be enjoying himself too and often looked to Roxas for validation.

“I’ll tell you what, it is kinda nice seeing a performer who’s interested in helping out. Most of the time they’re only concerned about themselves, and the most insight they give is in the form of bossing the stagehands around like we’re their lackeys or something,” Roxas mused as he made his way to the lowering bar. He gave Axel a thumbs up when the bar was low enough to work with.

“I wanna help you out, especially when you look as exhausted as you do. Plus, it gives me an excuse to sneak off and spend some time with you,” Axel explained with a cheeky grin and tied off the rope so he could move to help Roxas with the second curtain.

“I knew it! You are ditching out on practice,” Roxas spoke fervently and put his hands on his hips.

“Guilty,” Axel scoffed as he put his hands up defensively, “Tell you what, I’ll go back to practice if you take a break and come listen to us. We can set you up with a place to lay down and exercise a little TLC.” 

Axel’s genuineness coupled with his proposition was definitely enticing to the blonde. Honestly, it was probably exactly what he needed at this moment.

“As much as I REALLY want to entertain that offer, there's just too much to do,” Roxas sighed, then smiled weakly at the redhead, “But...thanks for offering.”

Axel seemed a little disappointed, but grinned nonetheless, “I’ll respect your decision, but I’m not happy about it. I’ll get you to play hooky with me one of these days.”

“I thought you were going to take me to watch one of your practices?” Roxas raised an eyebrow.

Axel gave a big grin and laughed nervously, “Right right, that’s what I meant.”

Roxas chuckled and shook his head, “You’re unbelievable.”

“Why, thank you,” Axel winked at him before chucking along.

-

They finished tying up the second curtain and hoisted it high into the air together.

Roxas nodded his head in approval, “Nice job Axel, they look good.”

Axel threw an arm around Roxas’s shoulder and squeezed the smaller man to his side, “We make a pretty good team huh? Just like back in high school.”

Roxas ducked out from his arm and shook his head, “Hey...There’s something I just don’t understand and it's been sort of bothering me.”

“Shoot,” Axel cocked his head at him, “What’s on your mind?”

“Well,” Roxas murmured and looked up towards the catwalk, “We weren’t really even that close Axel. In high school that is. Sure, we were in a band your senior year and spent a lot of time in rehearsals for different things, but it’s not like we ever ‘hung out’ regularly. It was more like a...workplace relationship? Do you know what I mean?... Anyway, I don’t know why you keep insisting that we can ‘go back to old times’. What is there really to go back to?”

After a pause, Axel sighed deeply and ran a hand through his fiery locks. He looked a little bit hurt as he breathed out, “I mean, I know you’re right to a degree. But, you were in a lot of my favorite high school memories you know? Maybe I thought of you as more of a friend than you did. But hey, I won’t take any offense by it.”

Roxas quickly turned to him and opened his mouth, but was cut off.

“Roxas! What the fuck are you doing? Your shift ended like, three hours ago,” Olette hissed as she came storming up to her friend from backstage, tossing a clipboard aside with a loud clatter as approached.

Axel looked to Roxas quizzically.

“Busted...,” Roxas sighed and shrunk inwardly, “Sorry Olette, I just thought my shift was... a little too short today.”

“That was the point! I know how you get, and look at you! You already look like hell! Did Sora keep you up again?” Olette’s anger dipped into concern.

“It’s fine. What are brothers for?” Roxas laughed weakly, “Put some faith in me Olette. I can do this. Let me help out more.”

“Why didn’t you tell him to stop? Can’t you see he’s running himself ragged?” Olette pointed an accusatory finger at Axel, who immediately put his hands up defensively.

“Hey, I tried, but Roxas is his own man. I tried, but can’t convince him to do shit. Plus, it must have slipped his mind to tell me that he wasn’t even on the clock,” Axel cocked his head towards Roxas and gave him a disappointed glare.

Roxas put on a weak grin and shrugged apologetically.

“Alright. I’m the stage manager for this show. I give you your hours, so I can take them away too. You’re taking the weekend off. No ifs, ands or buts,” Olette demanded.

“No! You can’t do that to me!” Roxas whined.

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Axel exclaimed and put himself between Olette and Roxas, “Roxas, you should show Demyx and me around Twilight Town tomorrow. It’s been a while since we’ve been here and you can show us what’s changed.”

“What if the answer’s nothing,” Roxas moaned, “This is a terrible idea... The shows in a week!”

“And we’ll have plenty of capable hands working in your stead over the weekend. Go spend some time with your friends or brother. Call your sister. Sleep for once! Do whatever, just you don’t dare come here until Monday,” Olette pointed towards the auditorium, “Now get out of here before I kick your ass out.”

Roxas’s shoulders slumped, “...fine.”

The blonde started to move to leave, but Axel grabbed him, “So... noon tomorrow in the sandlot?”

Roxas breathed out a weak sigh, “Do I have any other option?”

“Yes, but this is the best option. So how about we go for it? ...I’ll make it worth your while, I promise,” Axel squeezed Roxas’s shoulder once.

“And what about practicing?” Roxas continued.

“If I say I’ll go back and practice super hard tonight, will that make you happy?” Axel’s voice strained, “Come on man, throw me a bone here.”

The blonde looked at the hand, then to the floor, “...Sandlot at noon. Try not to be too late.”

“Putting a lot of pressure on me now aren’t we?” Axel chuckled softly, “I’m looking forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a little bit shorter and mostly just character building, but I needed a sort of bridge. I promise everything will come together nicely. Expect some more familiar faces in the coming chapters! I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.   
> \- JuiceCSushi


	4. Saturday: Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas takes Axel and Demyx out on the town for some sightseeing. After a busy day, they finish it off with some passionate group karaoke. Does this mean what I think it means? Probably not.

They were late, of course. 

Roxas didn’t expect anything different from Axel and Demyx, which did help quell his temper at the situation. With being laid off of work for the weekend, he really didn’t have anything better to do anyway.

The blonde kicked at the sand below the bench absentmindedly, making a scuff in the ground that was slowly getting deeper. 

He probably looked like a lost child right now. His height didn’t help.

Roxas had been up rather late again last night, this time trying to figure out what he was going to do to entertain the yahoos for the day. He had some ideas, but a day’s worth of festivities was almost too much to handle. At least he had a general plan for this evening that was probably more the rockstars’ speed. 

The blonde let out a long sigh. 

Who was he kidding? He wasn’t that much of a partier. Entertaining high octane people was almost entirely out of his ballpark.

He turned his phone over and watched the screen light up. The clock displayed 12:09 PM, and the front screen was void of any new texts. He had gotten a ‘Running late, sorry!’ text from Axel a few minutes to noon, but nothing else since then. It would be just his luck if they still hadn’t left their hotel. 

“There you are!” Demyx’s voice rang out and snapped Roxas out of his trance.

The two men jogged up to Roxas, who stood to greet them.

“Sorry for being late. I’m surprised you didn’t up and leave us behind,” Axel laughed, his shining grin the only thing alluding to his mood. His eyes were obscured by dark sunglasses.

“Saix almost throttled us for skipping out. Thank god Xigbar is a real G,” Demyx wheezed. It looked like the near eighty-degree weather was taking a toll on him.

“Too true. He understands we perform way better with ample breaks,” Axel expressed, holding a finger up in an astute way.

“Well shit, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with your bandmate. Maybe you should go back,” Roxas spoke in a monotone, making it blatantly obvious he wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Haha, can’t get rid of us that easily. Besides, Axel filled me in that Olette told you to take the weekend off. Wouldn’t you be super lonely if you didn’t have us to keep you company today?” Demyx teased, fanning himself as he spoke.

“Oh yeah. I can assure you, I have nothing else more important to do than give you guys a grand tour of your own hometown. Which, as I told Axel yesterday, hasn’t changed one bit,” Roxas’s tone dripped with sarcasm, but the two rockstars didn’t seem phased by it.

“Anyway, let's get Demyx out of the sun before he faints. Most people don’t wear denim jackets in this weather,” Roxas spoke as he turned, motioning them to follow him.

“See? I told you to dress light,” Axel spoke proudly, puffing out his chest which donned a plain burgundy t-shirt, “Why don’t you take it off for now?”

“But I like this jacket...” Demyx pouted.

As they walked along the streets of Twilight Town, Roxas tossed his head over his shoulder, “Did you guys eat?”

Axel suddenly perked up and jogged a little faster to walk beside him.

“No actually. But hey, is that little diner still around with the really good wraps? That place still shows up in my dreams,” Axel practically moaned.

“Oh. Yeah, it’s still around. Kind of a highschooler hotspot, but I’m down. The food is still pretty good,” Roxas chuckled and looked back at Demyx, “How about you sweaty? Wanna go to the ol’ diner?”

Demyx, who was trudging behind them at a slower pace, flashed him a thumbs up. He was too preoccupied with breathing heavily to respond properly.

“Poor thing,” Roxas jested.

“I would say he’ll learn for next time, but I know he won't,” Axel joked back.

Roxas chuckled and shook his head. 

To be honest, he was pretty happy that Axel had brought up the diner. The blonde hadn’t been entirely sure where he was going to bring them, but now that problem was solved. If it hadn’t been, the three of them probably would have been walking around in the sun for longer than Demyx could handle.

\------------------

The bell above the diner’s entrance door chimed as Roxas pushed it open. He turned and held it for his friends, earning him one thankful smile from the redhead and another more exhausted smile from the slumped mess behind him. 

Immediately, an undoubtedly high school-aged waitress greeted them and directed them towards a booth to sit. She set menus down and expressed she would be back in a moment with waters before going to greet another group of guests who had arrived.

“Wow, this place is just as bumping as I remember it. I’m really glad to see it hasn’t closed down,” Axel whistled and took a seat in the booth that had two menus placed at it. He looked up at Roxas expectantly.

Roxas made a move towards the booth, but Demyx, who was too busy recovering from his heat delirium to have caught the little exchange between the other two men, cut in front of him. He quickly crashed into the booth next to Axel and slumped tiredly with a loud exhale. Roxas snickered and slipped into the booth across from the other two men.

“Hey, I wanted to sit next to Roxy. You probably smell like major B.O,” Axel whined.

Demyx swung his body like a limp noodle and slammed himself against Axel, causing him to crash against the wall with a grunt.

“Oops, sorry. I’m just soooo tired. Anyway, if you wanted to get buddy buddy and go on a date with Roxas so bad, why did you even invite me along?” Demyx asked, finally catching his breath. 

Roxas rolled his eyes at the mocking comment.

Axel shoved Demyx back. His face then suddenly lit up and he turned to Roxas abruptly, “Shit, you’re right Demyx. Roxas, let's go on a date tomorrow and ditch the rest of these assholes. Sounds good?”

Roxas simply opened his menu and looked down at it. He responded by saying, “Good luck with getting out of even more practice time.”

“Yeah. Next time you try and sneak away, Saix is going to eat you alive. And not in an enjoyable way,” Demyx teased, “At least I’m still on his good side.”

“I’m never on his good side anymore,” Axel grumbled and folded his arms.

Roxas looked at Axel with a raised eyebrow but decided not to press about their band’s relationship.

“So, with the fact that Saix will always have it out for me out on the table... Roxas, you and me tomorrow?” Axel pressed the offer forward again.

“As much as going on a playdate with you sounds like a blast, I’m afraid I promised Sora I would go over and hang with him and Riku tomorrow,” Roxas explained and shut his menu, his decision made.

“It wasn’t gonna be a ‘playdate’,” Axel pouted, whipped his sunglasses off and opened his menu with a sulk.

“Damn Roxas, you’re kinda a smartass,” Demyx scoffed loudly, “And a tad bit stone-cold too.”

“Did it sound that way? I thought we were all just joking around,” Roxas murmured, “And I’m notoriously blunt. What did Sora call me? A ‘wet blanket’?”

Both Axel and Demyx looked up at him at the same time, then simultaneously burst out laughing.

Roxas felt his face heat up exponentially, “H-hey. What’s so fucking funny?”

Just then, the waitress approached the table and set three glasses of water down, apologizing about the wait as she did so. She asked the group of guys if they were ready, and everyone seemed comfortable with ordering. The three of them ordered and the waitress quickly whisked away again with a brief thank you.

Roxas had forgotten what they were talking about by that point and turned back to the other two with another thought popping up into his head.

“Oh yeah. I hope you two don’t mind, but Hayner and Pence are going to meet up with us later. Olette is too, but after she's done with work. Oh, and Sora and Kairi, but after Riku heads to work for the evening. We got reservations for a karaoke booth that serves alcohol. Is that okay with you?” Roxas explained the meet up he had planned late last night.

“Hey, that sounds like a blast,” Demyx chimed, “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to drink and sing just for fun, huh Axe?”

“Right? Roxy, you better get up and sing something with me tonight,” Axel looked like he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Get a few drinks in me and we’ll see what happens,” Roxas murmured back quietly.

“Ew, stop flirting. It’s gross,” Demyx scoffed and brought his glass to his lips, “I didn’t realize I’d be third-wheeling for most of today.”

“Haha,” Roxas said blatantly, “How’s that water taste?”

“Like it was a gift that rained down from the heavens.” Demyx sighed contently, “Water always tastes the best when you’re dying from dehydration.”

“No shit,” Axel shoved his friend with a quick cackle.

The three of them shot the shit for a while before and during their meal. Demyx and Axel told stories about their lives on the road, alluding to, but not going into major detail, about the rockstar lifestyle that everyone seemed to desire so much. Bringing it up just seemed to wind the two guitar players. Roxas didn’t pry too much. He can only imagine how tiring those types of days can be, no matter how fun they sound. Roxas, in turn, gave snippets about his college life and experience with having Hayner as a roommate. The blonde found it endearing how attentive the two guys were when he gave college stories, then realized that these two never got a chance to experience college. It was a real ‘when worlds collide’ situation, Roxas finding the rockstar lifestyle interesting whereas the other two wanted to know what college was like. Roxas chalked it up to him being lucky to have friends who were able to make it big, or at least get the chance to attempt to.

When the food arrived, Roxas watched his friends' eyes light up after their first bites. The two of them made it very clear that the taste was very nostalgic, which Roxas could understand to a degree. He assumed that the two had tried tons of different foods from all around and would have easily forgotten about these tastes from their past, but it's hard to ditch your roots. The band the three of them were in in high school came here all the time after practices back in the old days. He had sort of forgotten about that until he looked across the booth and was flooded with major deja vu. Being here was, no doubt, pretty nostalgic.

Once Roxas squared away the bill, deciding to treat the two happy, full idiots, they took to the streets once again.

Demyx finally ditched the jean jacket when Roxas offered the idea of bumming around to show them that Twilight Town was, in fact, the same as when they had left it. The group walked up and down Market Street, stopping every once in a while to peruse goods that caught their eyes or to check out buildings that they remembered from the past. 

Roxas ended up absentmindedly staring at an earring set a street vendor was pedaling for a little too long while he was moving about with the other two. Axel had noticed this and, without a single word to Roxas, offered the street vendor cash for the set. The vendor wrapped the bracelet set up in some thin, decorative paper and handed it to Axel, who turned and put it gently in Roxas’s hand with a soft smile. He then turned on his heel and headed towards Demyx, who was looking at something farther down the street. The exchange happened without a single word.

The blonde, slack-jawed, looked down at the package in his hand. He let out a very soft sigh and slowly wrapped his fingers around the package. He pocketed it before sauntering slowly towards the other two.

When he grouped back up with the others, Demyx quickly asked if they had any time to head to the beach. He expressed that he almost completely forgot it existed.

Roxas checked his FitBit and rubbed the back of his head.

“I don’t know if it would be worth it man. By the time we get there, you might only get a half-hour before we have to come back and meet up with everyone else. I wish I would have known you liked the beach, I would have made a day out of it. Every spare day I get I’m there. It’s like a second...third home besides my dorm and the theater.”

“I can tell. I’ve been wanting to say you look a little more ‘kissed by the sun’ than I remember,” Axel hummed, “Maybe sometime this week we could all go?”

“I...doubt it. We’re all gonna have our hands full with the concert on Saturday. Are you leaving right afterward?” Roxas asked, actually feeling a little bit beat up that he hadn’t thought of the beach earlier.

“Sunday morning at eight is when the trailers ship off,” Demyx sighed, “Damn it. Curse Xigbar, that beautiful bastard, for wedging this concert in between two bigger venues. I know I should be happy we are even here, but a week and a half is hardly enough time to be back home.”

Demyx and Axel both looked a little pouty after this.

Roxas looked between them and quickly spoke up, “L-listen, here’s a promise I’m gonna make to you right now. Next time you two come home, I’ll drive you out to the beach and we can have a beach party. Bonfires, watermelon, booze, the whole works. I’ll even bring wakeboards and shit. It’ll be a blast,” Roxas held up both of his hands, pinkies outstretched, “Okay?”

Demyx and Axel both smiled excitedly and quickly took one of Roxas’s pinkies in their own.

“We’re gonna hold you to that, you know? No trying to weasel out of hanging out with us like what you’ve been pulling so far,” Demyx warned.

“Guilty,” Roxas chuckled in an embarrassed manner, “But hopefully the next time you guys come, we’ll not be on such a tight schedule. I just... get stressed out really easily, and I feel that because I know you two, I have to try even harder this week to make everything-”

“That’s enough,” Axel laughed, quickly cutting him off. He let go of Roxas’s pinkie so he could instead ruffle the smaller man's golden locks.

“We know how you operate. You’re an honors student and an overachiever. But, don’t run yourself into the ground on our accord. We’re professionals. We’ll perform our hearts out even if the fucking stage is burning down,” Axel reassured the blonde with a playful smirk.

Roxas smiled and shook his head, pushing the redhead's hand off his hair in the process.

“I bet you’d actually be into that,” Roxas teased.

“A burning stage? Oh, you know it.” Axel spoke lowly. He’d undoubtedly had a devious glint in his emerald eyes. Roxas could tell even if he was wearing shades.

“Oh my fucking lord, stop flirting. Just kiss already,” Demyx groaned and tossed his head towards the sky.

Axel elbowed him with a look, but Roxas just had to giggle.

“You think that’s flirting? Obviously, you haven’t seen me flirt before,” the blonde folded his arms, letting his words come across as playful.

“No, I can’t say I have. You were WAY too shy in high school to flirt. Or maybe too engrossed in all your commitments,” Demyx remarked and seemed to think about it.

Roxas looked towards Axel. The man was looking at him past his shades expectantly. His look said ‘try me’. 

“I think we should start heading to the clocktower,” Roxas spoke hurriedly and whipped around so he didn’t have to face Axel anymore. 

Roxas couldn’t help but feel his pulse racing. He smiled inwardly to himself, almost sadly in fact. If Axel had looked at him that way when he was a little bit younger, his teenage heart might have exploded. But he knew better now. Or at least he thought he did.

A hand gripped Roxas’s shoulder and squeezed.

The short blonde turned his head just in time to see Axel pass him. He could feel his eyes on him and that smile. That damn smile. It spelt mischief. 

Axel’s hand just barely brushed Roxas’s neck as he continued on forward.

“I think I remember where that tower is. Let me try and lead the way,” Axel called over his shoulder. He was already starting to make his way down the twilight lit street and Demyx was quick to follow after him.

Roxas was locked in place long enough for Axel to call back to him playfully.

“You coming Roxy?”

“Y-yeah. Don’t expect me to help you find the way if you get lost,” Roxas quickly recovered with a shake of his head and joined the other two men.

\------------------

“Holy shit, you gotta be kidding me?” Roxas heard Hayner call as his small group rounded the top of the hill, “If it isn’t our town’s finest. The only interesting people to be born out of this hole in the wall. Minus Roxas.”

“Hey!” Roxas shouted, but he knew better than to take his friend’s words at face value.

“Actually, this guy's name is Demyx,” Axel perpetuated the joke and grabbed his bandmate’s shoulders.

“Aw come on. If Roxas and I were both gonna fall in hot lava, who would you save first?” Demyx asked his friend, looking over his shoulder with a pout.

“Oh Dem, you know the answer,” Axel cooed and pinched his friend's cheek endearingly. He then made his way towards Hayner and Pence with a cackle.

“I hate that I know,” Demyx huffed and followed after the redhead with a confused yet snickering Roxas in tow.

“Woah, speaking of town’s finest, you two are looking really good! Fuck, why are all you little shits getting so trim now,” Axel looked between Hayner, Pence, back at Roxas, and then to Pence once more, “Especially you Pence, I hardly recognize you.”

Pence laughed goodheartedly, “Hayner’s a really good coach. You two are looking good as well. Those eye tattoos are pretty sick.”

Axel put a finger up to each of them, “Yeah, they’re growing on me.”

“Olette’s almost here. Have you heard from Sora?” Hayner walked up to Roxas and threw an arm around his neck, putting him into a light chokehold. 

“Are you kidding me? That kid will be on his phone for a day straight, then not touch it for a week. Getting a hold of him won't work, and it’s a miracle if he has the decency to check in with me unless it's absolutely dire to him,” Roxas laughed, trying his best to weasel his way out of the hold but to no avail.

“Right right,” Hayner chuckled and finally let his buddy go, “Well let’s hope they’re on their way. Either that or we’ll have to ditch them.”

“Nah, we can’t do that. It’s not fair to Kairi,” Roxas mused.

Roxas felt a large amount of weight press on his shoulder. He quickly looked over to see Axel resting an arm on him and looking up at the clocktower with a wistful expression.

“This place really brings back memories,” Axel’s voice was quiet and soft.

Roxas turned to look at the clocktower as well. 

The rolling, fluffy clouds were moving slowly across the sky, the light from twilight making them look orange rather than white. The large bells were hit with rays from the sun, causing the reflection bouncing off of them to be hard to look at. It was a very picturesque scene. Then again, it almost always seemed to be that way. 

“I haven’t been up there in a really long time. Honestly, I was probably in high school that last time I sat up on that ledge,” Roxas admitted.

“Really? But the view was always so gorgeous,” Axel sounded bewildered and he turned to face Roxas.

The blonde simply shrugged.

“I guess I just got too busy and forgot about this place. I think that...,” Roxas wavered and paused for a moment, “No memory I could make on my own could top the ones I already made there years ago,” Roxas explained, then added with a soft scoff, “I guess.”

Axel didn’t respond to this.

Roxas and Axel stood in silence for a long enough moment that it was identifiable. The faint talking between Hayner, Pence and Demyx was seemingly drowned out by the two men. Their thoughts were consumed by lazy, sunny days from their past.

The buzzing in Roxas’s pocket violently ripped him from his daydream.

“That must be Sora. Take a guess for what he’s fucked up this time,” Roxas deadpanned as he fished his phone out and answered it.

‘He’s lost,’ Axel mouthed to him with a giddy grin, actually taking a guess.

“What’s up Sora? You’re late,” Roxas immediately called him out.

“What are you talking about Rox? You’re all late. Kairi and I are already here and Olette is on her way,” Sora’s hyper voice chimed from the other end. His voice then hushed down and he whispered fervently.

“Please hurry up, I’m freaking out with just Kairi and I...” Sora pleaded.

“You dumbass, we agreed to meet at the clocktower,” Roxas sighed heavily, “How did Olette manage to fuck that up to?”

“She...might have called me and asked where we were meeting. She knew you were on a date so she didn’t want to bother you,” Sora murmured, then his volume shot through the roof, “FUCK WAIT, how was your date! How are Axel and Demyx? Did you kiss?”

“Dude fucking chill out. Pay attention to your girlfriend, we’ll come your way,” Roxas groaned, rubbing his throbbing ear.

“S-shes not my girlfriend man...” Sora murmured shyly from his end of the line, “And you’re not getting out of those questions. Hurry up and get over here.”

Sora hung up abruptly before Roxas could get another word in.

“Was I right?” Axel questioned with a smirk, full well knowing he heard the whole conversation.

“The dumbass is already at the karaoke place. We should all head that way now,” Roxas groaned, “And I can tell he’s starved of social interaction. It’s gonna be a rough night.”

“Nah, Sora’s a ray of sunshine. I’m sure he’ll be a blast to hang with drunk,” Axel came closer to him and whispered, “And I’m sure he wants to hear about that kiss we’ll be sharing. Eventually.”

Roxas’s cheeks flushed and he groaned inwardly, “Please Axel, don’t encourage him. He will not leave me alone if you do.”

“I’m not hearing any issues,” Axel laughed sneakily and moved to rejoin the group.

\------------------

“Alright now this one goes out to all the lovely ladies in the room. Hayner, I’m looking at you!” Demyx’s slightly slurred voice rang through the karaoke room’s speakers, causing it to respond with a ring of feedback.

“Shut the hell up man,” Hayner responded with a hearty laugh as he recovered from clutching his ears.

After the group had finally converged into one spot at the karaoke place, it was awfully clear that everyone was eager to get started. This was most present in Sora, who bounced around the group, finding something to say to everyone. The energy from the small brunette was enough to get everyone else feeling equally as excited.

Roxas checked in for their reservation and received the key to their karaoke booth from the front desk. He led the charge of rambunctious hooligans down the hallway and to the section of the complex that contained the larger karaoke rooms. He unlocked the door and allowed the group to clammer their way in.

Everyone was quick to put in drink orders and catch up with each other. The Twilight Town residents immediately flooded the visiting rockstars with questions and congratulated them for their achievements. Axel and Demyx were happy to answer and seemed equally as enthused to hear about what everyone else was up to, just as Roxas had observed in the diner. 

But the moment the booze started flowing, the energy was turned up to an eleven.

Demyx and Hayner were immediately joined at the hip, and it took all of Pence’s mental fortitude to keep the two men, who were quickly chasing after inebriation, from doing something too stupid. Or illegal.

Sora was doing all he could to engage with everyone with overflowing enthusiasm, but whenever he turned to his side to talk with Kairi, his bashfulness was palpable.

Kairi seemed to just be enjoying everyone's company. She was overly aware of Sora’s demeanor towards her, but she seemed to find it exceedingly cute and was sucked into acting equally as shy around him.

Roxas often thought it was a shame that Sora and Kairi were too passive and sweet. He doubted either of them would ever muster up the courage to make things official. Regardless, Roxas was rooting for them.

Due to their predicament, Kairi spent the majority of the time talking quietly and giggling with Olette as they caught up in their own way. 

Roxas almost wished he was talking with them instead. It seemed pleasant.

“Axel... Did you know I’M the older brother,” Sora beamed proudly as he invaded Roxas’s personal space, nearly knocking the red solo cup from the blonde’s grasp.

“I may remember you mentioning that before,” Axel mused, entertaining Sora’s drunken enthusiasm.

Sora tended to be a little bit of a lightweight, Roxas made sure to monitor he’s alcohol intake when he could. But, tonight was a celebration and he trusted his brother enough to make good decisions for himself. Whether or not that was a good idea was starting to become apparent.

“Mhmm! Isn’t that just adorable?” Sora hugged his gloomy brother and rocked back and forth.

Roxas opened his mouth to protest but immediately gave up. It wasn’t worth it.

“Yeah, he is,” Axel hummed lowly.

Roxas and Sora both looked to him, then Sora began to rock his brother with even more enthusiasm, giving Roxas an excited, full grin. The beer in Roxas’s hand was nearly sloshing itself out of the cup.

“Did you hear that? Did you?” Sora hissed quietly to his brother, “Oh my god, imagine what baby Roxas would think? You totally have to go for it. You owe it to yourself.” The brunette's words tumbled out of his mouth at a rate that made Roxas’s hazy head spin.

“I can not deal with this right now,” Roxas groaned and brought his glass to his lips. He took a hearty sip.

Roxas was painfully aware of Axel’s eyes on him and the heat he was feeling from his face.

“Sora~ Your turn on the mic little man. Get your girl up there with you,” Demyx called.

He had finished his song without the rest of them really noticing. The rockstar was wagging the microphone in front of Sora. He wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Sora turned to Kairi with a light dusting of pink adorning his cheeks. He gave her a half-smile and spoke shakily.

“Wanna... sing a duet with me?” Sora asked and rubbed the back of his fluffy hair.

“Of course!” Kairi beamed with a sweet smile and gently took his hand, pulling him up off of the couch with her. They shyly made their way to the front of the room, hand in hand.

Kairi and Sora pulled up “The Way You Make Me Feel” on the karaoke machine and crowded around the microphone. They started off fine, but once Sora started giggling, the two of them could hardly finish a single lyric without breaking off into laughter. The more they laughed, the more their cheeks lit up a matching red and the more their bodies shook as they attempted to repress their giggling.

“Gotta say, they are pretty cute,” Axel hummed. Roxas hadn’t seemed to notice that Axel closed the gap between them on the couch.

Roxas, out of instinct, leaned slightly away. He kept his eyes trained on the fledgling couple.

“Aren’t they? I wish they would just seal the deal already,” Roxas joked.

“I don’t think you’re looking at this the right way,” Axel pointed out and gestured to the singers.

“What do you mean?” Roxas questioned offendedly and faced Axel, to which he immediately regretted.

Roxas was practically tucked up into the crook of Axel’s arm. The sneaky fuck had put his arm around the back of the couch at some undisclosed point. He looked at Roxas with an impish gaze, illuminated by the blue light of the TV screen. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt they love each other. Not one bit,” Axel spoked hushedly, close enough to Roxas that he could still be heard over the music.

“Way to be obvious,” Roxas scoffed and made a movement to scoot away. Except he stopped himself when Axel whispered huskily.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Roxas’s body shuddered and he squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself internally.

“Do you flirt this openly with everyone?” Roxas muttered, a slight scowl on his mug.

“Nope. I usually have a little more taste. I guess I just feel pressed for time,” Axel leaned in fully and whispered directly into his ear, “I’m glad you see right through me. Then we don’t have to beat around the bush.”

Roxas clicked his tongue, “Jeez, confident, are we? What am I to you, easy?”

Axel immediately backpedaled with a stutter, “N-no wait that’s not what I meant. I just,” the redhead cursed under his breath, “There really isn’t much time Roxy. I... can’t really do this the way I want to.”

“Do what?” Roxas asked with a skeptical expression, but the sound of Sora and Kairi’s laughter drowned his question out. They seemed to just have finished up the song.

Axel downed the rest of his drink and looked to Roxas, “Hey, won’t you join me on stage? I haven’t heard you sing yet.”

“Nah. You sound great on your own. You don’t need me messing up your style,” Roxas mumbled into his cup.

“Don’t be silly Roxy,” Axel jokingly tipped the party poopers cup a little bit more with his forefinger, “Finish off that glass and come with me.”

Roxas’s eyes went wide and he had no choice but to quickly chug the rest of the cup or risk spilling it all down his front. Once the cup was empty of its contents, Roxas tore away with a cough, sucking fresh air into his lungs.

“Thatta boy,” Axel encouraged and gripped his shoulder, pulling him close, “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Asshat...,” Roxas whipped his lips and grumbled challengingly, “You’re gonna regret doing that.”

Axel’s eyes twinkled with mischief and he murmured, “Is that a promise?” 

He didn’t give Roxas a chance to respond as he whipped him up off the couch and guided him towards the front of the room.

“Roxas you’re singing?!” Sora exclaimed in an exacerbated manner, “I haven’t heard you sing in ages.”

“All the more reason not to.” Roxas sighed and relieved his brother of the microphone, “Should be a good laugh though.”

“Are you kidding? You two are going to sound amazing!” Sora assured his brother and made his way to the couch with Kairi.

“Good luck Roxas,” Kairi encouraged softly as she passed him, tailing the hyper brunette.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Axel spoke nonchalantly as he flipped through the karaoke repertoire, “You okay with Blink-182?”

“Are you kidding me?” Roxas scoffed. He took his place next to the rockstar and peered at the song list with him, “You’re a fan of Blink-182?”

“Not in particular. I just think that would be fun. Everyone knows Blink-182,” Axel explained as he clicked on the title ‘All The Small Things’, “Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Roxas sighed and pushed the microphone into Axel’s hand, “You’re starting though, Mr. Professional.”

Axel shrugged and brought the mic up to his lips, “Whatever makes you more comfortable, baby.” The comment rang very prominently through the speakers and caused a few laughs around the room.

Roxas’s cheeks burned and he rolled his eyes as the intro to the song began to play over the speakers.

Axel immediately began to sway back and forth, grooving out to the tune with a smoldering grin. His eyes stayed trained on Roxas as his lips parted and began belting the first few lyrics.

Roxas couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth pull up into a goofy grin. Axel always exuded infectious energy when he performed, and Roxas couldn’t help but be pulled into it. Just the way Axel expressed himself on stage was entertaining enough. The fact he sang like a god definitely helped though.

Axel suddenly closed the gap between him and Roxas in one step and leaned down slightly, the microphone becoming equidistant between the two of them.

In any other moment, Roxas’s throat would have closed up and he would have fallen flat on his face. But the encouraging, fun-filled expression Axel directed towards him made him quickly forget that there were other people there other than just the two of them.

The next few lyrics, Axel and Roxas sang together. Roxas did in fact know Blink-182 pretty well and was able to immediately dip into the harmony part, which caused Axel to light up even brighter. The pure, excited expression melted the rest of Roxas’s inhibitions away.

Axel and Roxas’s mouths were mere inches away from the microphone on either side as they belted out the refrain specifically to each other. Every word became more and more natural as they progressed through the piece. By the time they reached the ‘nah nahs’, Axel and Roxas were both dancing on cloud nine with no inhibitions.

For the second stanza, Roxas decided to go out on a limb and sing the melody. Axel nodded his head in approval and quickly switched to the harmony. Of course, Axel was a professional. But Roxas wasn’t exactly new to musical performance either.

By the time the next music break happened, Axel moved the microphone away so he could whisper to Roxas with a goofy grin. Roxas could tell he had something stupid to say.

“Should I get naked like in the music video?” Axel murmured through stifled laughter.

Roxas couldn’t help but double over with laughter at the thought of Axel dancing around in his tighty whities and swarms of erratic female fans just sobbing over him.

Axel sang the next refrain to let Roxas recover, but the blonde didn’t get a chance to join back in. He lifted his head back up and was immediately greeted with Axel rubbing his hands all over his own body in a rather unsexy way just as the performers did in the music video.

With that, Roxas was out. He broke down into a laughing fit and instinctively shielded his mouth from view. He could feel tears forming at the corners of his eyes. 

The fiery-haired rockstar set the microphone down and let the rest of the song play out. He closed the gap between him and Roxas once again and quickly wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Oh my god, you’re literally the most precious thing on Earth,” Axel whined and rocked back and forth with the blonde in his arms.

“Shut up,” Roxas giggled, his smile still pulling at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t pull away. Rather, he leaned into him. It might have been the booze talking, but it was a really nice hug.

Sora’s shrill cheering and clapping snapped Roxas out of the moment, and the room started to flood back into his consciousness.

“That was so much fun! I’m a hundred percent positive Roxas hasn’t sung like that in years!” Sora practically shouted and leaped to his feet, “You two are so perfect together. I literally can’t believe it.”

Roxas felt his heart start to hammer with embarrassment and he instinctively started to try and pull away from Axel’s grasp. But the redhead held fast.

“Don’t let your nerves ruin what we just did, Roxy,” Axel’s breath danced on Roxas's ear as he spoke tenderly to the smaller man.

“E-easy for you to say,” Roxas whined, “Let’s just sit down...”

Axel nodded and turned to Demyx, “You’re up man.”

“What? Me? Oh well, I guess if I must,” Demyx feigned ignorance for a moment, but everyone knew his addiction to attention. He leaped up to go claim the microphone and was quick to pick his next song.

Roxas was about to claim his seat next to his brother, but Axel’s arm stayed firm on his back and kept him moving towards the door. He opened his mouth to complain, but Axel put a finger against his own lips and gave him a wink. This caused the blonde's mouth to slam shut and his face heated up even further.

Sora seemed to be the only one who noticed his, but he only giggled softly and gave them a thumbs up.

Once the two of them made it successfully out of the room without being widely detected, Axel quietly shut the door and turned to his companion with a cheeky grin.

“If you think we’re doing anything, you better think otherwise,” Roxas deadpanned.

“W-what? No no. I promise I have something better in mind. Do you trust me?” Axel asked sincerely.

Roxas scoured Axel’s expression for any hint of foul play, but he didn’t detect any. With a sigh, he conceded, “They’ll notice if we go back in anyway, and I’m sure I won’t hear the end of it.”

“Thatta boy. Follow me,” Axel chuckled and offered his arm to him cheekily, to which Roxas reluctantly took it.

\----------------

“I’m back~” Axel chimed as he rounded the corner of the top of the Clocktower, “Glad to see you didn’t fall off the ledge.”

“Thought about jumping, but I didn’t,” Roxas murmured with little to no enthusiasm.

Roxas was cold, bored, and miserable. Axel had made him trek all the way back to the Clocktower in the middle of the night. He was going to turn right back around and leave the idiot there, but the puppy dog eyes the redhead gave him caused him to cave. But, then the dumbass had told him to sit up there all by his lonesome with his eyes closed. To which he had to... for almost twenty minutes.

“Sorry, Roxy. A lot of places are closed right now, but I struck gold. Trust me,” Axel’s voice sounded next to him and he heard the man take a seat, “But you can open your eyes now.”

Roxas sighed and did so gladly. (He wasn’t gonna lie, he had his eyes open up until the point he saw Axel coming back.) Regardless, the first view he was greeted with was Axel with a giddy grin and two blue popsicles in his hand.

“You’re fucking messing with me,” Roxas scoffed, “Axel it's like, forty degrees out.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm,” Axel winked, “You remember these right?”

“Uh yeah, I still live here you know,” Roxas spoke with a shake of his head, “You brought me all the way up here in the middle of the night and made me sit by myself for what felt like forever... just so we can eat ice cream?”

Axel’s smile fell.

“Well... when you say it like that,” Axel grumbled and ran his free hand through his hair, “I don’t know. Nostalgia bro.”

“Yeah you really are on that nostalgia kick huh?” Roxas clicked his tongue. 

Axel looked down at the ground below. Roxas could tell he was embarrassed, which didn’t look good on him.

“Are you gonna give me one?” Roxas asked.

“You still want one?” Axel perked up.

“Yeah. You did buy one for me, right? I’m gonna eat it if that’s the case,” Roxas spoke and outstretched his hand to take one.

Axel seemed relieved and handed one over. He then took his own and took a bite out of it.

Roxas shivered at the unsightly way he ate it. He then took a lick at his own and asked, “Worth it?”

After a moment, Axel’s shoulders dropped.

“...It’s really not as good as I remember,” Axel conceded with a disappointed sigh.

“Well it is just ice cream,” Roxas laughed and took another lick, “But thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem,” the redhead answered evenly, then turned to the blonde, “Sorry for dragging you up here. I just have this vivid memory of a group of us up here. We were just laughing and enjoying some cheap ice cream. For a minute, nothing else mattered.”

“Well, ice cream tastes better when it’s warm out. And if we are thinking of the same day, then I distinctly remember it being near boiling out,” Roxas pointed out.

“So you do remember,” Axel seemed content with that.

“Of course I do. It was after the Spring Music Fest right?” Roxas asked and searched his memory for more details on the day.

“Yep. It was opening night. Honestly, every one of my performances after that night sucked ass,” Axel admitted with a hearty laugh.

“What? No way. You were always fantastic,” Roxas grumbled, feeling a little bit of his childhood jealousy resurfacing.

Axel smiled softly at the man with him, “Thanks, Roxy.”

Roxas looked away out of instinct, “Yeah yeah...”

Axel was silent for a moment, then a quiet laugh escaped his lips.

“But there is something about that evening you definitely don’t know,” Axel hinted.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Roxas asked curiously while taking another lick at his ice cream bar.

“Well. I just so happened to look at you in passing, and I was struck. My first thought was, ‘Wow, his hair looks so gorgeous in this light’. And then I couldn't stop stealing glances. I’m gonna be honest, I never really paid much mind to you before then, even when we were in practice together, or performed together. But after that, I couldn’t stop thinking about you-”

“Just stop before you say something stupid,” Roxas cut him off curtly. He could feel his cheeks burning once again, but he wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or repressed rage.

“I forgot about you again when I graduated, but you’d pop up into my head every now and then, and I’d always imagine that far of look you had in those pretty blue eyes of yours as you stared. I always wondered what you were thinking about when looking at that sunset sky,” Axel continued despite Roxas’s comment, “I was secretly hoping I’d see you again. And fuck was I hit hard when I saw you again.”

“Axel shut up!” Roxas shouted the force he put behind the action causing him to drop his ice cream bar off the ledge.

Axel went dead silent and watched the dessert fall all the way to the ground below.

“Stop messing with me. What have I ever done to you to deserve this?” Roxas groaned and put his head in his hands, his embarrassment overflowing.

“W-what do you mean Roxy?-” Axel started

“Enough with this ‘Roxy’ bullshit. You knew how I felt about you back then, now you’re here for a week and you’re pulling this shit. For real? What is wrong with you?” Roxas hissed. His heart was hammering in his chest to the point it hurt to breathe.

“I..I didn’t know.” Axel muttered, “I mean...maybe I did. I definitely didn’t remember though...,” Axel spoke in a quiet tone that was scarily unlike him, “Roxas, I’m sorry. But I don’t even think anything would have happened back then. I wasn’t really into the dating thing.”

“Why are you still talking,” Roxas’s voice pinched with pain.

Axel finally fell silent.

“This is stupid. I’m gonna head home,” Roxas spoke hollowly and he began to rise to his feet.

“Roxas wait don’t leave on this note, please,” Axel pleaded and he also ditched his ice cream so he could reach out and grab Roxas’s wrist.

“Jesus Axel!” Roxas squeaked in surprise when he felt his balance waiver slightly.

“S-sorry. Please just sit down,” Axel spoke erratically, “I can’t let you leave this as it is. Just hear me out.”

Roxas glared at him, but it didn’t last.

“Guess I don’t really have a choice since you’ll push me off if I try and leave,” Roxas spat as he retook his seat.

“That's not funny...,” Axel murmured and let go of the blonde's wrist, “It was an accident...”

“Yeah yeah. You have one minute,” Roxas said coldly, his patience shot.

Distress melted onto Axel’s face as he learned of the time limit. His mouth opened and shut with a grimace as he tried to find the words. Roxas was caught off guard by the apparent fear in his eyes.

The blonde finally let out a weak, tired sigh.

“You don’t need to say anything. Let’s just get this week over with and go back to our lives. Things really didn’t even need to get to this point,” the smaller man muttered as he watched his feet dangling over the ledge.

“But I wanted it to,” Axel muttered in return, “I’ve already had so much fun being back, and every moment I spend with you just makes me want to slam my head through a wall. I’m so confused and angry. I can’t believe I fucked something up without even knowing it. Classic Axel, huh?”

Roxas looked to the man next to him with a cocked eyebrow. Then asked genuinely, “Did you really not know I had... a crush on you in high school.” He felt the embarrassment flare back up.

“It seems like I’m the only one who was unaware. And I think we both were into each other for a little bit. But it wasn’t going to go anywhere. I wasn’t gonna entertain the thought I wasn’t straight for even a moment,” Axel admitted and then put his hands in his hair, “Why was I so fucking concerned about appearances back then?”

“Because everyone knew you looked good, and you felt the need to perpetuate that?” Roxas offered.

“Yikes...,” Axel scoffed, “Yeah, you’re probably right. But now I know better. And I know what I want.”

The redhead started to look towards Roxas and was quickly met with the blonde shaking his head.

“It’s not going to happen, Axel,” Roxas's voice came out as a wheeze, “It’s nothing against you. Really. I just know better than to fall in love with your type.”

“My type?” Axel’s voice made it clear he was rather insulted, “First you say it’s nothing against me, then you group me in with this 'type'?”

Roxas groaned and added, “That's not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean,” Axel snapped, then quickly pulled himself back, “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just... I don't understand Roxy. We got a shot at this.”

“You leave in less than a week,” Roxas felt the need to remind him.

Axel opened his mouth, then shut it again.

“Exactly,” Roxas said with an air of finality.

The redhead had a complicated expression on his face. Whatever excuse he was trying to come up with wasn’t going to change the situation.

“Well, regardless. Can we... still hang out while I’m here?” Axel asked shyly. He looked sad and worried, and that was enough to win Roxas over. No matter what was said or done, Roxas had a soft spot for the redhead.

“If we ever have time, yeah,” Roxas promised, “I’m not going to miss hanging out with my old bandmate.”

Axel gave him a thankful smile. 

“Why don’t we head back? I think, at this point, we’re both pretty exhausted,” Roxas offered and moved to stand once again.

“Tell me about it,” Axel scoffed and joined him on his feet.

“...I’m gonna be with Sora and Riku tomorrow,” Roxas brought up nonchalantly, “If I don’t blow my brains out... Do you want to text a little bit? I mean, I know you have practice.” The blonde immediately regretted even entertaining the idea.

“I’d love to,” Axel answered quickly, “Whenever I get the chance.”

Roxas couldn’t help but blush at the enthusiasm, despite his better judgment, “Alright, sounds like a plan. Let’s... head back now.”

Axel nodded and let Roxas silently lead the way back down off the Clocktower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song References:  
> "The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson  
> "All The Small Things" - Blink-182
> 
> Hi again,
> 
> I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long, but I hope this extra-long chapter makes up for it. I plan to continue this and complete it, even if another multiple months-long hiatus ends up happening. It will be finished, I swear on it. 
> 
> Anyway, I hoped you like this chapter and look forward to the next one!  
> -JuiceCSushi


	5. Sunday: They Were Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas finally gets a break from Axel, but per his brother's request, he decides to spend a chunk of his Sunday with Sora and his roommate, Riku.

Axel: _Damn this day blows ;(_

Roxas: _Finished with this round of practice?_

Axel: _Yeah we are taking a little break  
Take a look at this_

A picture showed up in Roxas’s text feed. It displayed a worn-out Demyx plastered haphazardly over a ratty couch, which Roxas recognized as an old prop from a show long past, and a sweaty Axel dabbing his brow with the bottom of his shirt. It was easy to tell he was taking the photo selfie-style, and the fact that his abdomen and part of his chest was on display was also definitely intentional.

Roxas: _Seriously? :\_

Axel: _;)  
Anyway, I’ve only got 20 mins before we start up again  
How’s it at Riku and Sora’s?_

Roxas’s thumbs hovered over the keypad as he tried to find the right words to describe it. But he took a little too long to respond.

“Oooh, he looks pretty good sweaty huh?” Sora murmured over Roxas’s shoulder, then gave a hearty cackle and jabbed his brother in the side with an elbow when he saw the blonde's cheeks become dusted with a red hue.

“I didn’t ask for this picture...” Roxas grumbled and turned his phone off quickly. 

He thought that the night before had stopped Axel’s persistent flirting attempts, but he was acting exactly like it never happened. The redhead had been talking to him every moment he could, and his texts were not void of his usual button-pushing. But Roxas didn’t mind it as much. This was just how Axel was to people, and it was pretty amusing to bounce his apparent ‘disinterest’ off of how he was acting. 

“We don’t always get what we want, do we?” the cold voice of the silver-haired man on the other side of Roxas pointed out with a hint of venom.

“Maybe I wanted to sit by Sora for once,” Roxas whipped around to face Riku, not going to let the apathetic man make snide remarks without getting clapped back.

“Then HE could have sat in the middle,” Riku pointed out with a shrug, his eyes trained on the TV screen. His hand left the controller he was holding briefly to push his round glasses up on the bridge of his nose. 

Riku’s arms were on full display, one of them intricately adorned with a complex, and Roxas was even willing to say beautiful, sleeve tattoo. The silver-haired boy had quite a few, that along with some choice piercings. Once he decided to join the workforce as a tattoo artist’s apprentice and not pursue higher education, he was quick to accumulate some body modifications, some that he even did himself. He was actually the one who gave Sora his first set of piercings, along with a small tattoo, which Riku had designed personally for the brunette, when he was having a little mental crisis.

“No fair Riku. You’re cheating,” Sora whined quietly from Roxas’s other side. He was trying to butt into their conversation before it escalated like it usually did. The brunette was also sticking his tongue out, scrunching his nose and waving the remote around frantically as he tried to beat his roommate at some new fighting game they had bought.

“You’re disgusting,” Roxas whispered in Riku’s direction.

“Get over yourself,” Riku answered back in a whisper as well.

“Maybe I should just sit between you two...?” Sora offered as he took his eyes off of the screen, thus causing him to quickly get bumped off in the virtual world.

“Exactly,” Riku agreed and moved himself to look around Roxas at Sora.

Roxas in turn moved to block his view.

“Yeah and let him sexually harass you? Fat chance while I’m here,” Roxas muttered coldly.

“Wow you really have it out for me, don’t you?” Riku snarled, then added softly, “I’d never hurt Sora. Never in a million years.”

Roxas faked a gagging motion.

“That’s probably how you looked choking on Axel’s cock last night,” Riku snickered, eyes back on the TV.

Roxas reached and grabbed the front of Riku’s shirt, forcing him to look towards him.

“I’m going to beat your sorry ass and enjoy every minute of it,” Roxas sneered at the taller man, Riku’s shirt balled tightly into the blondes shaking fist.

“Careful, you’ll rip the shirt,” Riku deadpanned.

“H-hey. Riku. Roxas. Please stop,” Sora interjected, pulling his brother backward, “We’re supposed to be hanging out.”

Riku looked away from Roxas and muttered, “You heard your brother.”

Roxas released the silver-haired man with a click of his tongue and turned back to the TV. He pulled his knees into his chest and scowled to himself.

“Let’s play another round Riku. I’m sure I’ll beat you this time,” Sora exclaimed and gripped the controller even tighter. The fire in the brunette's eyes was a clear indication of how seriously he was taking this. He always seemed to be oddly competitive with Riku in particular.

“You’re on,” Riku agreed. His eyes looked over to his excited roommate, and the tender smile he gave the man caused Roxas to roll his eyes.

It was obvious to everyone how Riku felt towards his best friend. They had been super close friends since they were very young, the two of them and Kairi, but as the years progressed the people around them began to see how the feelings in the group shifted. It was obvious to everyone in high school that Sora and Kairi were even more inseparable than the three of them as a group. Everyone could see that the two of them had a future together. But, even before that, people picked up on the way that Riku acted towards Sora. Whenever he could be, Riku was at Sora’s side. He was constantly doing whatever he could for the brunette and acting as some sort of protector when he could. Even with Riku’s obvious obsession for his best friend, Sora seemed to be completely oblivious to Riku’s feelings. And Riku would never outright admit he did have these feelings. Though, he didn’t deny it either.

Roxas looked to his dumb brother with sympathy. He noticed that his brother's ears were red.

“Hey Sora, are you feeling okay?” Roxas asked and moved a hand to his Sora’s forehead, “you’re really warm. Are you getting a fever?”

“Nah it’s no big deal,” Sora laughed it off and playfully nudged his brother away, “Don’t mess with my face. I’m in the zone. Oh, and your phones been going off like crazy.”

Just as he said that his phone buzzed and lit up once more. 

When Roxas finally grabbed his phone and looked at his front screen, he realized that he had totally forgotten about Axel. This had already happened a few times today.

Roxas quickly opened his phone and scrolled his way through the messages that had been sent to him.

Axel: _You still there?  
Come on man, I only got a few minutes to talk to you  
Don’t forget about me ;-;  
How could you? I’m so unforgettable  
Fine, I see that you’re busy babysitting your big bro  
Don’t mess around too much in their relationship  
Seriously, trust me on that  
I’m gonna go grab something to munch on before we start back up  
I’ll be waiting for your response Roxy ~  
Thinking about you will get me through this day  
Love you ! <3 <3 <3_

Roxas decided to text him back to explain himself.

Roxas: _Sorry Axe, Riku was being a creep and I had to set him straight.  
Idk how you could even be mutuals with him, he’s so clingy and possessive.  
Anyway, pay attention to your bandmates and stay hydrated, etc, etc._

Axel was quick to respond.

Axel: _You called me Axe ;;  
Thats so cute honestly  
And you are just slighted towards Riku, he’s really not all that bad  
He’s whipped, but he’s still respecting Sora’s feelings, you know?  
Give him some credit  
Kay babes?_

Roxas: _Yeah yeah, no ones on my side.  
But that’s fine, I’ll be the one to make sure Sora doesn’t let his sweet, pure heart get taken advantage of. You and everyone else can hope Riku will stay quiet and obedient._

Axel: _Yikes Roxy, Riku’s not a dog  
Even if he’s a horny guy living in close proximities with his crush/best friend, he’ll still keep Sora’s best interests in mind, and you know it  
And I’m always on your side btw, I’m just trying to get you on Sora’s side  
Also, stop assuming Sora’s so pure. You might not be on social media, but I am. And I’ve seen some things_

Roxas stuck his tongue out at his phone, suddenly feeling the need to give Axel AND Sora a stern talking to.

Roxas: _Sora is too passion-driven and reckless. He doesn’t understand how things are sometimes.  
Please don’t indulge him if he’s being careless on the internet._

Axel: _Are you kidding me? He’s an infinite source of dumb entertainment.  
In fact, I’m gonna go encourage him and comment on a post right now!_

Roxas: _Leaving now_

Axel: _No no no Roxy please stay ;(  
Let me escape this hell Saix is putting me through  
You’re a beautiful blonde angel, saving me from blue-haired satan_

Roxas watched the ‘typing’ notification hover for a very long time. Then, Axel finally sent something.

Axel: _Saix saw that  
He’s not happy ;-;  
Gotta go back to practice now  
Feel free to keep texting me though, I’ll check my phone as often as I can  
<3 Ttyl cutie_

Roxas shook his head and put his phone down, his attention returning to the TV.

Sora was getting his ass handed to him at an even more alarming rate than usual. Riku’s character hardly had a lick of damage done to him. He wasn’t going easy on the brunette, but Sora never wanted anyone to ever underestimate him. But what was happening right now was just sad.

The blonde looked to his brother, confused, and was quickly greeted with a completely still, spaced out Sora. He seemed to be very lost in thought and was hardly even putting up a fight anymore. 

“Sora, you’ve been acting weird,” Roxas murmured to his brother, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Sora shouted and snapped out of his trance with a start. He seemed to also realize he was getting his ass kicked.

“Shit, no fair. Rematch,” Sora pouted.

“Sure, whatever makes you feel better,” Riku teased him with a soft voice, “But I’m not gonna go easy on you even now.”

Sora didn’t respond, causing both of the other men to look towards him.

“Sora. What’s wrong?” Riku’s voice suddenly dipped into concern and he started to move to get up.

“Nothing! Nothing...,” Sora shouted, then repeated again with a quiet tone. He took a moment to think, then looked to Roxas, “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Yeah, of course,” Roxas murmured and rose to his feet, immediately realizing that Sora’s demeanor meant something was up, “let’s go into the kitchen for a second.”

Riku looked to Sora with confusion and worry. He seemed a little hurt as well.

“Just hang here for a moment Riku. It’s... just a little thing between siblings. When we come back, I’m gonna kick your ass so hard you wont be able to sit right for days,” Sora promised him, his usual cheery smile leaping to his lips.

“...yeah, I know it. Take your time,” Riku spoke softly and turned his attention back to the TV. Even if he was diverting his attention, the hollow look of a man who was left concerned and with a lot of questions hung on his features.

Sora nodded once, then grabbed Roxas’s hand and left for the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Roxas tried to lighten the weird mood just a little bit.

“I wish Xion would come to me with concerns every once in a while. It seems like the things you worry about, and come to me for, make up for all the times she doesn’t rely on us.” Roxas joked.

“Xion’s got high school friends to whine to. She’s not gonna come to her older brothers for help,” Sora laughed weakly, “But, you’re all I really got Roxas. You know, for an outside perspective.”

Roxas smiled at his brother affectionately, “I understand Sora. I always have your back. So, what’s eating you?”

Sora looked down at his slippers, seeming to suddenly get very embarrassed.

“Well... something... happened last night,” Sora muttered shyly.

“Something...,” Roxas started and tried to think about it, “something with Kairi?”

“N-no! After we all realized the two of you weren’t coming back and finished up karaoke, Olette and I got her home safe and sound,” Sora promised with a light, embarrassed blush, “As always.”

“Okay good,” Roxas hummed and nodded his head, trusting his brother, “So... something happened after you got home?”

Sora nodded and made his way to the refrigerator to grab a sports drink, avoiding his brother's eyes.

“Okay...,” Roxas was starting to get even more concerned with his brother's reserved demeanor, “What happened?”

“Well...,” Sora murmured, then took a drink from his bottle. He seemed uncomfortable and nervous, but he took a deep breath.

“So I was really drunk last night, right?” Sora started meekly.

“Oh yeah,” Roxas scoffed.

“Well, I may have... kept drinking when I got back home and hopped online with my streamer friends,” Sora mumbled and shifted uncomfortably.

“Okay. As long as you were being safe, that’s nothing new,” Roxas said with a shrug, “No big deal bro.”

“That's... not the end of it though,” Sora warned, looking to the side.

“You’re freaking me out Sora. Just tell me what happened,” Roxas pleaded, “You can trust me.”

“Promise not to totally freak out?” Sora asked hopefully.

“I promise,” Roxas nodded, “Now what happened.”

“So Riku came home from work around two A.M. Apparently, he went out to get drinks with some coworkers after his last appointment. And he was really REALLY plastered when he got home,” Sora started, watching his brother to gauge his reaction.

“Keep going,” Roxas encouraged, starting to get uneasy now that Riku was in the picture.

“So... I went to greet him at the door. And he needed my help maneuvering around a little bit. But, he ended up falling on me a little. I caught him but... he started to say some weird things,” Sora continued as he scuffed his slipper on the kitchen floor.

“Like what?” Roxas prompted.

“...he said he wished I liked him instead of Kairi. Which, I do really really like Riku, but I don’t think he was talking about that,” Sora admitted, blushing heavily, “And he said that living with me is torture.” 

Sora pouted a little bit at that.

“So you finally know. I never would have thought you would find out Riku likes you,” Roxas scoffed and rubbed his face, “Just ignore him. He’s grown creepily attached to you. He probably meant that living in the same house as you without the chance to get his pervy hands-on you was torture.”

“So everyone besides me seemed to know,” Sora said dryly, then looked to the other side with a weird, apologetic facade.

Roxas felt a spike of worry in his chest.

“Sora. What happened after that?” Roxas asked dryly.

Sora caved inward slightly. He reached up to the collar of the sweater he was wearing and pulled it aside slightly. Dotting the side of his neck were a few very distinct bruises.

Roxas’s jaw dropped open.

“I was... trying to reassure him. And I think his drunk brain took that as a go-ahead to get handsy. And I was drunk too so... I didn’t stop it,” Sora admitted and hid his embarrassed face behind his hands.

“I’m going to kill him,” Roxas said plainly and turned to leave the kitchen.

“N-no!” Sora shouted with a start, “Don’t worry, he fell asleep before anything too ‘extreme’ happened. And he also doesn’t seem to remember one bit on what happened.”

“How convenient,” Roxas didn’t buy it.

“No seriously, I think he thought the hickeys were from Kairi. When he saw them, he didn’t treat it like it was his handiwork,” Sora explained.

“Doesn’t matter. He still fucking felt you up when you were unconsenting, and that’s not okay by any stretch,” Roxas hissed, “He needs to fucking pay.”

“I didn’t call you in here to get Riku in trouble, I called you in here because I liked it and I’m really really confused!” Sora blurted out.

Roxas’s jaw dropped again.

The brunette looked to the floor once more and whispered shakily, “When he fell asleep, I honestly was really upset. And I haven’t been able to get what actually did happen out of my head. It... felt really good.”

“Enough,” Roxas cut him off, feeling a little sick, “You were drunk Sora. You weren’t in the right mind then. You can’t possibly base romantic feelings off of this alone.”

“But I never even said that I was trying to,” Sora stated, “But... I don’t know how this is gonna affect me and Kairi.”

“Sora, a long time ago Kairi went out of her way to go up to Riku and tell him to give up on you. She really likes you Sora, to the point that she was willing to lose Riku as a friend in order to stop him from potentially making a move on you. Are you really gonna break her heart because Riku made you ‘feel good’ when you were drunk? You’re gonna drop a nice, sweet girl like Kairi for a pervy, punk asshole?

Sora was quiet for a moment, then started to tear up.

“He’s your type too,” Sora sniffled slightly, “And I know you’re right. And that's why I need your help. I need you to tell me why am I feeling this way, even when I know that it’s not right?”

Roxas glare at Sora quickly melted into an empathetic gaze.

“I’m sorry Sora. I know this is hard on you. You’re such a sweet guy that you get so easily taken advantage of. It pisses me off so much...,” Roxas started, “Listen, I think you should-”

Roxas stopped as what Axel texted him earlier about not messing around in their relationship flashed through his head.

“I think you should take some time and think through this on your own,” Roxas finished, “you know my opinion, but you need to decide what you feel. I guess, just keep in mind how your decisions affect others.”

“That's terrible advice!” Sora shouted, “I need your help, Roxas. I need to know what the right thing to do is.”

The brunette let a little sob wrack his body, then wiped his eyes, “I don’t want to hurt either of them...”

Roxas cursed Riku for ever putting Sora in this position.

“I know you don’t Sora. You’d never mean to hurt anyone,” Roxas murmured as he walked over and gave his brother a soft hug, “But you also have to take care of yourself. You can’t deny your own feelings. And that's why I can’t help you. Because I am biased, and I don’t know exactly how you are feeling.”

Roxas grabbed his brother's splotchy tear-streaked face and made him look him in the eyes.

“Now stop crying already. I know whatever you choose, you’ll keep everyone in mind. Just... please truly sort out these feelings and how they came about, okay? For me?” Roxas asked.

“Mhmm,” Sora nodded his head, still trying to fight the tears back. He reached up and wiped his face with a soft laugh.

“Sorry, I’m being emotional again,” Sora apologized.

“No worries. It’s because you have the biggest heart there is,” Roxas wiped a stray tear from his cheek. 

Sora flashed his brother a bright smile as thanks, as well as his way of proving he’ll be alright.

“Sora, what’s wrong?” 

Sora and Roxas both turned to see Riku in the doorway. 

“O-oh. Riku. I’m fine, I just needed to break down to my brother. Namine does that for you, right?” Sora joked and wiped his eyes even more vigorously.

“Yeah but...,” Riku couldn’t seem to come up with the words he needed. He looked a little betrayed.

Sora left Roxas to go up to Riku. He seemed to still be a little shy, but he seemed even more so compelled to quell his friend’s anxieties.

“Please, please don’t worry. I just needed to talk to Roxas about something that's... a little difficult. It needed to stay between us brothers. You understand right?” Sora explained.

Riku looked into Sora’s eyes, searching them, then nodded his head slowly and added, “I understand. But, you do know you can talk to me about anything. Right?”

“Of course!” Sora beamed up at his roommate, “You’re always there for me. You, Roxas, and Kairi are. And I don’t know what I could do without you guys.”

Riku smiled softly, seeming to be content with normal Sora starting to come back. He slowly reached a hand up and pinched Sora’s nose, then moved to ruffle his hair affectionately.

“And we couldn’t live without you. You hold us all together Sora,” Riku spoke genuinely.

Sora looked passed Riku’s hand with a blush, then struggled erratically away from the hand, “Aye, don’t tease me!”

Riku just chuckled and retracted his hand.

“Ew, is this how Demyx felt yesterday?” Roxas muttered to himself, then spoke up, “I’m going back to the living room. Make out if you want but make it quick.”

Sora and Riku both returned Roxas’s statement with a blush and a scowl.

Roxas chuckled weakly and made his way back towards the living room. As he passed Riku, he whispered so that only the silver-haired man could hear.

“Watch yourself. Do something like that to Sora again, and I’ll bash your brains in,” Roxas said coldly, then continued on his path.

Riku stayed still and stared at the blonde as he left, confused and dumbfounded by the sudden venom and the accusation.

Sora was quick to follow after his brother.

Riku took a little bit longer to come back to the living room. He was most likely thinking over Roxas’s threat. That or brooding. When he did come back, he had three glasses that were filled with some sort of thick, green protein drink.

“Mind trying these for me? It’s a new recipe I came up with,” Riku offered each of them a glass. Sora seemed rather enthusiastic, but Roxas looked over it warily.

“Are you trying to poison me?” Roxas accused.

“I wish I knew how to, but I actually want both of your opinions,” Riku explained and took his seat.

“Always tastes better than it looks,” Sora hummed. The contents in his glass had already dwindled while they weren't looking.

Roxas reluctantly took a sip and learned that Sora was exactly right. The protein drink had a lot of flavors and hid its more foul-tasting ingredients well. But he wasn’t about to admit it. Even if it did taste quite good, Riku didn’t deserve any positive comments right now.

“Alright, Riku, time for that rematch,” Sora giggled manically, “victory shall be mine!”

“We’ll see about that,” Riku hummed, amused.

Roxas was content with the fact that the two of them seemed to be back to normal. But, internally, he wasn’t feeling so hot. Knowing he couldn’t talk about it out loud, he pulled out his phone and went to his and Axel’s message stream.

Roxas: _Axel I’m livid.  
Riku felt up my drunk brother last night.  
There are hickies all over his neck.  
Can you seriously defend this guy?  
Oh and that's not it, Sora’s catching some sort of feelings for him now.  
This is my worst nightmare._

After a little while, Axel got back to him.

Axel: _Oh boy, what did you say to them? ___

Roxas: _Nothing much to Riku other than a little threat. Apparently, he doesn’t even remember that he nearly molested my brother.  
Sora’s just too nice for his own good, giving thought into that creep's feelings.  
But I did tell Sora to figure it out for himself as you said._

Axel: _I hope you said it nicer than that_

Roxas: _I did, but I didn’t feel like being nice.  
Everything that Sora has been working towards with Kairi is going to be ruined._

Axel: _I don’t think so  
I’m proud of you for believing in your brother though  
I’m sure he really appreciates that you trust his judgment  
Just be there for him, and I’m sure he’ll figure it out_

Roxas: _Yeah, that’s what I told him.  
I just hope that he really makes the decision for himself, and not for someone else's sake._

Axel: _He’ll figure it out  
Just don’t think about it  
How about thinking about how you’re gonna get to see me tomorrow instead?  
Aren’t you excited?_

Roxas: _I’m excited to get back to work.  
I’m starting to believe that days off really aren’t as relaxing as people claim._

Axel: _You’re hopeless Roxy  
Adorably hopeless_

Roxas: _:/_

Axel: _lol  
Don’t worry, I’ll change your outlook on things  
Back to practice though  
Working hard for you baby  
I’m gonna perform so hard, you’ll fall deeply in love with me  
Hit by my charming spell_

Roxas: _Hoping for it.  
Goodluck dumbass._

Axel: _:P_  
_Meanie_  
_Love you tho_

__Roxas set his phone down once more. He realized that the corners of his mouth were tugged up into a smile._ _

__“Fuck! So close,” Sora tossed the controller onto the couch with a whine, “I’m done. I give. You won fair and square.”_ _

__“You’re getting better though. And really quick too. I’ve gotten more of a chance to practice than you. But you’re a natural,” Riku praised._ _

__Sora beamed at his roommate, “You really think? Thanks, Riku!”_ _

__Riku’s eyes seemed to cloud over and he didn’t respond. It was like Sora’s cute, pure smile caused the silver-haired man’s brain to shut down._ _

__“Gross...,” Roxas muttered to himself. He didn’t know how much more of this he could handle, especially knowing the circumstances of last night, “Hey Sora, do you mind if I head home? I got some homework I need to crank through before tomorrow.”_ _

__Sora pouted and whispered, “But it might be awkward if you leave me alone with Riku...”_ _

__“You’re roommates. You’ll have to suck it up,” Roxas whispered back._ _

__“Can’t you do it here?” Sora pleaded once more._ _

__“I get distracted so easily, you know this,” Roxas reminded him._ _

__Sora sighed very heavily and slouched on the couch, “Fiiiiine. I know how important your grades are to you, even if it kills you.”_ _

__“Thanks, bro,” Roxas answered and ruffled his hair while he wasn’t prepared for it._ _

__He then remembered something with a start._ _

__“Oh! These are from Axel for the two of you. He gave them to me last night. I almost forgot,” Roxas explained and fished something out of his backpack._ _

__From within the bag, Roxas produced two concert tickets._ _

__“Come to the show this weekend. No ifs ands or buts,” Roxas insisted._ _

__“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Sora exclaimed and snatched the tickets excitedly._ _

__“Axel already told me I had to come, so we’ll be there,” Riku reiterated._ _

__“Sounds good,” Roxas said dryly to Sora’s roommate, then turned to his brother once more._ _

__“Call me if you need anything, but I’m going to be really busy this week. Try and not make phone calls for every cute puppy video you come across on Instagram,” Roxas instructed his brother, quite aware of how emotional Sora can get on a dime._ _

__“Awww,” Sora gave his brother a pout._ _

__“Just send me the videos instead,” Roxas offered._ _

__“Okay!” Sora settled with that and leaped to his feet, “I’ll walk you to the door.”_ _

__“See you at the concert Roxas,” Riku stated as he switched the TV over to a different source._ _

__“Yeah,” Was all Roxas could muster._ _

__

__The brunette led his brother to the door. Once there, he spoke hushedly to his brother once more._ _

__“Are you sure you don’t have any advice?” Sora asked softly, “I don’t want to act weird around Riku now that I know. I wish he would have told me outright. Because he doesn’t even remember saying it.”_ _

__“My only piece of advice is to tell him exactly what happened. You can’t keep this secret or it might make your living situation a living hell. You have to be on the same page as roommates and as friends. And since you say you suddenly feel something towards him, it’s even more important to communicate clearly,” Roxas explained, deciding to only start Sora in the right direction. The right direction to him, at least._ _

__Sora opened his mouth, seemingly to protest something, but Roxas cut him off._ _

__“I hath spoken. Now I bid you a good day,” Roxas joked, opened the door, and slipped his shoes on._ _

__“Fine,” Sora pouted once again, “See you at the concert bro.”_ _

__“Yep, see you later. And Sora?”_ _

__“Hmm?” the brunette responded curiously._ _

__“Don’t let charm sway you. That will be your downfall,” Roxas offered._ _

__A smirk slowly started to spread across Sora’s face._ _

__“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, posting a new chapter in a timely manner? I'd never.
> 
> This chapter was a little bit of relationship-building and filler, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.  
> Please feel free to give feedback of any sort, I would love to hear what other people truly think.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you are looking forward to the next chapter!
> 
> \- JuiceCSushi


	6. Monday: Music in the Halls, A Song in the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On his break, Axel explores the halls of the Twilight Town Theater.

“Alright, let's take a fifteen-minute break,” the blue-haired Saix suddenly grumbled and put his drumsticks down on his set with an air of finality. His frustration was made even more evident as he ran his hand through his hair with a click of his tongue.

Axel and Demyx turned to look at each other with a weary gaze. 

They still both were holding their respective guitars in the ready position, having had stopped in the middle of a set. Saix hardly ever stopped in the middle of a set.

They then looked to Zexion, their bassist, who looks very close to throwing up for some reason. It was very clear to the two of them that Zexion wasn’t in the wrong. If there indeed was a ‘wrong’ to be in.

“H-hey man, we really aren’t sounding that bad at all,” Demyx offered warily.

“No, we aren’t,” Saix agreed as he let out a deep sigh and focused off somewhere in the very back of the theater. 

After a moment, Demyx spoke up again.

“Are you good?” Demyx offered further as he removed his guitar.

“Yeah. Just go take your break,” Saix muttered. His tone was definite, and he didn’t hang around long afterward for further questioning. The drummer was quick to exit the stage and disappear in the direction of the dressing rooms.

“Yikes, what’s up with him?” Axel scoffed and removed his guitar as well, “Am I missing something? I didn’t notice anything particularly off.”

“Same here, but Saix has been on edge ever since we got here,” Demyx reiterated as he popped his water bottle open.

“I wonder why...,” Zexion mumbled under his breath as he put his bass in its case with a gentle touch.

“Oh? You got an idea?” Axel questioned with a snarky lilt. He couldn’t help but be a little irritated by the way Zexion said that, “You’ve been awfully quiet since we got here as well. Has Saix poured his feelings out to you?”

Zexion’s face scrunched up with a mix of nerves and frustration. He didn’t respond.

“Just leave him be Axe,” Demyx cooed as he walked up to pat his bandmates back a few times. He then smacked him in the back of the head for an added touch, “we can’t be getting into fights right now.”

“Saix is upset because you’re too distracted Axel. It’s, REALLY obvious,” Zexion suddenly blurted out. He whipped around to face his bandmates with a confident facade, but the fact that he was visibly shaking contracted his expression.

The courage he was suddenly digging up caused Axel to scoff under his breath.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were capable of producing enough guts to say something like that,” Axel taunted.

Zexion grit his teeth. After a brief moment of shaking in frustration, he headed off in the same direction Saix left with a huff. He spoke over his shoulder briefly to state, “I’m just saying you better get your ass in gear.”

“Yeah yeah,” Axel mumbled, waving him off.

Demyx had to let out a few dry laughs.

“Damn, I don’t think Zexion has ever spoken up to us. Maybe does have some balls hidden somewhere,” Demyx teased, trying to alleviate the tension a little bit.

Axel rubbed both of his hands down his face with a deep groan, “Do I really seem that distracted?”

“I don’t think so,” Demyx shrugged, “but you have to remember. Saix and Zexion are way more ‘professional’ than us. I’m your buddy before I’m your bandmate. They can probably tell if you aren’t on your game.”

“I am on my game...,” Axel grumbled with a pout, then shot to his feet, “I know what I will remedy this sudden and devastating distress I’m feeling. I’ll go find Roxas and pester him a little bit.”

Demyx gave him a half-smile.

“...What?” Axel questioned warily.

“Maybe... now this is just an idea. But, maybe you should leave Roxas alone for a little while. That might help alleviate Saix’s ‘issue’ with you and also give Roxas some room to get his work done,” Demyx spoke cautiously, “just for today, at least.”

Axel groaned again, this time longer and louder.

“Not you too! Damn am I really just that influential that I’m causing everyone I come in contract to lose their minds,” Axel whined.

Demyx laughed happily, glad Axel didn’t seem too beat up by his comment.

“Yeah. You gotta be careful with your infectious charm,” Demyx snickered, “Just give everyone a day to recover. Then you can go back to being a nuisance.”

“Yeah yeah, I gotcha,” Axel sighed with a wave of his hand, “I’m gonna go grab something to eat from the place across the street. Want anything?”

“Nah, I’m fasting today after all the shit I ate yesterday and the beer I drank on Saturday,” Demyx said proudly and patted his stomach, “I gotta watch my midsection.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ll be back in a few,” Axel informed and waved a hand as he left the stage.

“Hey wait, what do you mean ‘good luck with that’!” Demyx shoulder after him.

Axel meandered his way out of the stage area and towards the theater’s front entrance. But as the gears in his head began to turn, his pace began to slow. He eventually just came to a stop. There, he pondered for a few moments.

“Yeah, fat chance I’m gonna pass up this opportunity,” Axel muttered to himself with a smirk. He turned on his heel and headed back towards the backstage area with just a little bit of a pep in his step.

Saying the areas that counted as ‘backstage’ were busy was a complete understatement. Workers of all sorts were zipping around and somehow managing to not run into each other’s paths. Axel felt too unprepared to throw himself into the fray, but thankfully he was quick to spot the current stage manager scribbling something frantically on her clipboard. To sweeten the deal even further, she was leaned up against a wall and not in the center of the chaos.

“Aye aye aye, Olette, how is it hanging?” Axel called out as he sauntered up to the brunette with a charming grin.

“Working,” Olette said rather evenly.

“Cool, cool,” Axel nodded and paused for a moment, then continued, “So, you wouldn’t happen to know what Roxas is up to would you?”

“He’s on his break,” Olette said in the same manner as before.

“Hey, no shit. I am too,” Axel said happily as he pointed to himself with a thumb, “Would you happen to know where he’s at?”

“I have an idea,” Olette’s tone was borderline dipping into annoyance and her pencil scratches became more heavy-handed.

“Can you point me in the right direction?” Axel asked sweetly.

“Hmm...Nah. Now I gotta get back to work so if you would please,” Olette tried to keep her tone joyful, but the annoyance was seeping through. She had made the gesture signifying for Axel to go on his merry way.

“Seriously? Come on...,” Axel groaned.

“Yes, seriously. Now take a hike. I’m busy,” Olette finally seemed to snap.

“Right right, I’m going...,” Axel said quickly with a nervous laugh and backed away from the near seething girl.

The fiery-haired guitarist awkwardly made his way back to the doorway he entered through and hovered there just long enough to confirm he didn’t see Roxas’s telltale blonde mop dipping in and out of the crowd of workers. With that, he took a deep breath and decided to begin his trek around the expanse of the building.

Even though Axel had been spending a lot of time in the theater, having only left to hang with Roxas’s posey on Saturday or to sleep at the hotel, he hadn’t spent any time exploring it. He was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the theater was humongous. He reckoned he only had about five minutes left before his break was up, and he highly doubted that he could thoroughly search the whole place in that amount of time. But, that wasn’t going to stop him from trying. 

Axel combed the back halls with scrutiny. He made sure to peek into all of the back rooms, which were all equally dark and empty, as well as try and sneak into maintenance rooms. Those too, were void of anyone other than one mechanic who briefly cussed Axel out before he was able to make a break for it.

Disheartened and aware his time was definitely up at this point, Axel made his way to one of the main halls and chose a wall to lean against. Running around the back of the theater had winded him just a little bit, and he needed a second to recollect himself. 

“Fuck...,” Axel groaned to himself and tilted his head back so he could bump it against the wall, “What a waste of time.”

The guitarist decided not to go back right away anyway. If he wasn’t going to be able to see Roxas on his break, he was at least going to take a few minutes to just be by himself. He didn’t get a lot of time to do that. But he definitely preferred to have company anyway.

Axel sucked a deep breath in and let it out slowly, feeling the tension in his shoulders melt away. He cleared his head and focused on the light humming he could hear traveling throughout the wall behind him. He told himself that this was fine. This was a good enough break for now.

It took a moment for Axel to realize it, but the humming in the wall wasn’t entirely just the electronics and pipes of the building making a faint noise. There was something else there. It was equally as faint yet almost more familiar.

A bass guitar?

Axel turned his head and pressed his ear closer to the wall. He scrunched his nose and focused as hard as he could on the sounds he was hearing.

“Sure shit,” Axel scoffed to himself. It was a bass guitar alright. And it was pretty damn good.

Axel backed away from the wall and looked around the ceiling for a speaker or PA system, assuming that someone was just paying it softly through the system as some sort of ambient music to fill the theater's empty corridors. Yet, the speaker he did find was definitely silent. In fact, he couldn’t hear the bass guitar at all when he left the wall.

Axel got close enough to the wall again and began to walk towards the direction of the stage. If the sound got louder, it was probably just Zexion getting back into practice. Except, Axel could definitely hear his bandmates warming up on the stage as they waited for him to make it back, Zexion included. So the only other option was that there was another bassist in the building. And he knew another bassist in the building.

Axel weighed his options. 

He could follow the wall and pin down where the bass guitar was coming from. This might lead to him catching a certain cute blonde playing again, which he hadn’t seen in years. Or, he could go back to the stage to keep his bandmates from waiting, give Roxas the break he deserves and keep Saix from being even more disappointed in him. 

...

Axel began to follow the wall going in the opposite direction with a cheeky smirk. 

He was way too curious to pass up the opportunity, and he would deal with whatever consequences came with this decision later. And, to his excitement, the bass guitar was getting louder.

Axel stuck close to the wall until he was able to hear the bass guitar’s riff without being glued to it. The sound was taking him in the direction of an empty wing just to the right of the backstage. It was a wing that he didn’t even notice before because it was so thin and tucked out of the way. The noise was more amplified at this point, so Axel was quick to jog down the length of the wing. But the problem was that there were no rooms in this hall. And just as he noticed that fact, he reached the wall at the far end. 

At this point, the riff was decently loud. 

And it was coming from above him.

Axel was positive that the balcony seating didn’t stretch this far. When it came to other things set on the ‘second floor’, the redhead had no idea what was up there.

Axel searched the ceiling, but the paneling was all the same. There was no indication of a dropdown ladder or any way of accessing a room above him. Just for shits and giggles, Axel decided to look down at the floor. There, he found something interesting.

In the corner of the end of the hall, there were four distinct markings on the floor arranged in a rectangular fashion. They looked like holes where something could be screwed into it. But there was nothing within sight that matched the other half of the ‘puzzle’, so to speak. It was safe to assume nothing had been screwed down there for ages.

“Shit,” Axel cursed under his breath with a deep frown. He couldn’t believe this search only resulted in more wasted time.

“What in the world are you doing down here?” a voice hissed from behind Axel.

The guitarist jumped slightly and whipped around, pulse racing. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was just Saix.

“Jesus man, you scared the shit out of me,” Axel laughed with a hand pressed to his chest.

“Did you get yourself lost wandering around?” Despite the joke, Saix didn’t sound amused.

“No no, I heard something and I followed it. Here, listen. Do you hear that bass guitar?” Axel asked excitedly and pointed at the ceiling.

The two men stood in silence for a few moments. Complete silence.

“I can’t believe this...,” Saix sighed and brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“N-no I swear. I think it was Roxas playing, but it was coming from the ceiling and I have no idea where to even start looking,” Axel explained with a light laugh, “I swear I didn’t just wander off following random noises.”

“Enough,” Saix’s voice strained.

Axel’s jaw slammed shut.

“Enough with this Roxas guy. Please, for the love of god, just focus on this concert. I know this is your hometown. I know you miss your old friends, but you have to stay focused. Even Demyx, who is in the same boat as you, is way more dialed in. And I mean we are talking about Demyx,” Saix began to lecture.

Axel narrowed his eyes slightly and decided to test his bandmate’s patience. He retorted by saying, “Are you sure you aren’t just jealous about how much time and energy I’m spending on Roxas?”

Saix’s expression immediately darkened and he began to close the distance between Axel and him.

Axel threw his hands up and quickly added, “I’m just joking man, relax.”

The quiet drummer stopped before him and stared him dead in the eyes.

“This band is my dream. I am exceedingly blessed to have three talented bandmates working alongside me helping me bring this dream to fruition. But, I seemed to have overlooked the maturity of my bandmates. Particularly the man I trusted to be my lead singer. I almost want to bring up how he’s been acting to Xigbar. Hell, even Xemnas. Apparently, he won’t listen to me anymore. So maybe if I threatened to get him kicked out of the band, he’ll start taking me seriously,” Saix snarled at Axel, never breaking eye contact.

Axel set his jaw, but he had to look away from the man’s intense, golden eyes.

“Fuck...,’ Axel breathed out softly, “Listen... I’m sorry Saix. I’m just...,” he paused to collect his thoughts, “Maybe I’m obsessed. Maybe that’s how I’ve truly been acting. But I just want to see Roxas enough before we have to leave.”

Saix’s expression didn’t soften, but he put a hand on Axel’s shoulder.

“Look at me Axe,” Saix whispered breathily.

Axel swallowed and pinched his eyes shut, “Don’t. Don’t talk to me like that...”

“Look at me,” Saix repeated, more forcefully this time.

Axel didn’t have much of a choice other than to meet the drummer’s eyes.

“Don’t do this to Roxas. We are a traveling band and I don’t know the next time we’ll be able to just take a break. If you care about him, and your own psyche, you will stop pursuing... whatever it is you are pursuing. I know you. I know you can’t do long distance. You need attention,” Saix’s tone hinted that what he was saying was non negotiable.

The blue-haired man’s hand slowly traveled from his friend’s shoulder towards his face, but Axel was quick to smack it away, as if out of instinct.

Again, the two men stood in silence, staring each other down.

Axel eventually shook his head and moved past Saix without meeting his eyes again.

“Come on, let’s get back. I’m ready now. I...I won’t let you down anymore,” Axel promised with certainty. As he noticed Saix wasn’t following him, he slowed his walk and added, “You coming?”

“Yeah,” Saix mumbled, walked up, and matched Axel’s pace, “And I know you won't. Even with your head in the clouds, you’ve got a voice and personality that's just...captivating.”

Axel’s expression was sour, but he added a genuine, “Thanks, man. And you know I couldn’t do it without your killer beat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still here, and I'm chugging away at this!  
> Sorry this is another short chapter. Monday was just a rather uneventful day.  
> But I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless.  
> Sometimes you really just need to focus on character relationships. And maybe a little story to c:
> 
> I hope you will stick around and read the next chapter!  
> Thank you so much  
> \- JuiceCSushi


	7. Tuesday: Communications Room Alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel and Roxas finally get a chance to hang out together, and Roxas 'really needs it'...

“Marvelous...”

“What was that, sir?”

Axel curiously looked over to his bandmate, Saix, when he posed the question to the man before them. He himself, frankly, had not been paying much attention to the flamboyant, pink-haired man who had been rambling for a little while now. 

“Oh? Oh, forgive me! I’m just in awe at everyone working here. Things are coming along just...marvelously~,” the man hummed in a satisfied manner.

Apparently, this guy was the owner of the Twilight Town Theater. He was filthy stinking rich, and it was old money to boot. Despite the prick inheriting all of his fortunes, Axel couldn’t find much to hate him over. He seemed like a genuine, calm, and put-together person. And not to mention interesting to look at.

“I just wanted to thank you all again for stopping in our little town between venues. I bet you are already quite exhausted. Now, I’ve heard you practice from afar and I just can’t get over how good you sound. Your chemistry is amazing,” the owner, Marluxia, clasped his hands together as he spoke wistfully. 

Demyx scoffed, which caused Saix to send him a look. The guitarist straightened back up fast.

Marluxia laughed softly, bringing a hand to his lips.

“Precious. To be young again, am I right?” Marluxia spoke kindly before continuing, “After coming into possession of this theater after my late parents handed it down to me... in addition to the hotel and the beach shopping district... I have seen so many fun acts pass through here. And frankly, I feel like your performance will be one of the best this town has ever seen.

His eyelashes batted, causing Axel to note their thickness. They were probably fake. Along with the bullshit, he just said. He bet the guy said this to every act that came through.

“We greatly appreciate the comment, sir. We are honored to play at your venue,” Saix expressed his gratitude. He bowed his head slightly to the owner to exemplify his statement.

“Of course, it’s my honor,” Marluxia said in turn, a hand over his heart.

“The rest of you shits should show your gratitude like your drummer is,” Xigbar’s gruffer voice rang out from behind them. 

The ponytailed manager walked up to shake Marluxia’s hand, and they exchanged a few greetings and quick laughs. Their manager then turned to look the rest of his band over with a semistern stare.

“Saix can’t keep being your PR person, you guys. Y’all gotta pull your own weight. What would you do without him?” Xigbar berated them briefly.

“Not have a drummer,” Axel deadpanned.

A small ripple of laughter moved throughout the band, but Xigbar didn’t seem as amused.

“Haha. Okay Axel, your turn to kiss Mr. Maluxia’s ass. And from here on out, you're doing the talking. You’re the fucking lead for fuck’s sake,” Xigbar grunted with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“Come on now Xigbar, don’t be so hard on the boy,” Marluxia said softly to the man next to him, “I’m not like that. I don’t need him to grovel. I’m just glad they’re all here.”

“Yeah, people saying that is why he’s still irresponsible and aloof,” Xigbar clicked his tongue, “Maybe he’ll get out of it this time, but eventually he’s gotta grow up.”

Marluxia just chuckled softly to himself.

“You two seem close,” Axel commented on what he was observing, truly not entirely interested.

“Oh, no-no. We just got drinks last night. Your manager is quite the charmer,” Marluxia eluded, sending a glance Xigbar’s way.

“What can I say, I’m quite the gentleman,” Xigbar scoffed with a smirk. He truly was great at patting himself on the back.

But this is where Axel tuned out of their conversation again. Listening to Marluxia and Xigbar talk was like listening to your dad flirt. It just doesn’t sound right at all.

The sound of creaking metal above them caused Axel to lazily peer up at the bright stage lights with squinted eyes. 

For a majority of the day he had been hearing the sounds of someone walking above them. He could never see anyone, for the lights blocked out a majority of the visibility to the catwalk above. Someone would have to try to make themselves seen to be seen up there. And Axel knew Roxas was up there. Yet, would his princess ever come down from the tower? No. Not yet at least.

Axel leveled his gaze once again, yet he still focused on the creaking, tracing the pacing from one side of the stage to the next. Back and forth with only a few moments of pausing in between. Back and forth.

Until finally, Axel heard someone coming down the ladder.

The redhead lazily cocked his head to the side. 

From his vantage point, he was able to see the latch door on the ceiling swing open inwardly. From the hole it created, Roxas’s work boots, then his legs, and finally the rest of him, appeared climbing down the metal ladder bolted into the wall. The blonde purposely missed the last few rungs on the ladder, but when his boots collided with the floor, they sent out a distinct, hollow echo. Axel saw Roxas wince at the noise he unintentionally made. 

Axel swiveled his head in Demyx’s direction.

As if able to sense it, Demyx was already looking back at him. He smirked and winked at his friend before giving him the thumbs up. 

Axel was lucky to have such an understanding friend like Demyx. He would tell him that later if he remembered.

With a quick once over confirming that no one was paying attention to him, Axel slowly backed himself away from the conversation. If he was seen, which he felt was highly likely, no one called him out on it. It technically was the end of practice for the day, and Saix at least had seemed to be very satisfied with how he performed. And if Saix was happy, everyone was happy.

The redhead made his way over to the ladder where Roxas had remained with his back turned, most likely on his phone.

“Oh Roxy, is that you?~ It feels like it has been years since we’ve actually talked, yet we are both working in the same building now,” Axel called out as he approached. 

He could almost see the smaller man's shoulders fall with distress.

“Yeah... sorry. Things have been a little crazy since Sunday,” Roxas mumbled.

“Hey, I can hardly hear you when your back’s turned,” Axel expressed when he had finally closed the gap.

As Axel said this, the blonde had already begun turning around. By the time he had finished his sentence, Roxas’s sunken eyes and hollow features were already clearly on display.

“Woah. You look, totally dead,” the redhead gapped.

“Funny. Hayner said the same thing this morning,” Roxas wheezed out a laugh.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Axel asked, looking the dazed man over.

“Yeah,” Roxas started with a hum, “Like... two, maybe three hours.”

“You’re kidding,” Axel sighed, “That can hardly be classified as sleeping. You took a nap.”

“Yeah,” Roxas laughed weakly again.

“Why didn’t you get any sleep?” Axel questioned, trying to stay within the wandering gaze of the man before him, “Studying for tests? Did Hayner bring a pretty lady over?”

Roxas sighed and paused, seeming to be mulling something over in his head. And then, just as Axel realized something, the two of them spoke in tandem.

“It’s Sora.”

“It’s Sora isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Roxas laughed weakly once more.

“Oh boy, what happened?” Axel asked and leaned up against the wall.

“Man, you don’t want me to really get into it, do you? I mean... I’ll tell you. But it’s been two days of chaos, let me tell you,” Roxas murmured as his hand went up to his hair, ruffling it with frustration.

“I got comfortable, didn’t I?” Axel hummed as he gestured to himself leaned up against the wall, “Vent to me babe, what’s up?”

Roxas eyed him warily for a moment before he let out a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of hours of pent up stress. His body slouched with an added groan.

“God Axel, I don’t know what to do. Sora’s a mess. Riku is a mess. Kairi is doing her best to not be a mess. Everything is just... mess,” Roxas began before leaning up against the wall himself, “So, you know what happened the other night between Sora and Riku, right?”

“Yeah, you basically filled me in,” Axel recollected the vague molestation allegations Roxas had brought up a few days prior, “Did things get even worse?”

“You don’t even know,” Roxas vented, then began to speak animatedly about what he’s been going through.

“So, Sora did end up talking to Riku about what happened the night before. This was on Sunday evening mind you. Riku was apparently very upset with his own actions, as he should be, but he fucking went full emo and avoided Sora for at least the rest of Sunday. Sora, acting as he usually does, broke the fuck down and came to me. I kept telling him over and over to just wait things out and think things through. But he was super rattled so he wasn’t really thinking the clearest. You know how Sora gets.”

“Yeah, that kid’s got a big heart in him,” Axel laughed, “So, then what?”

Roxas continued.

“Well, you know I’m not really into the social media stuff, but apparently he went out and told his fans he’s going on hiatus from streaming for a while. He didn’t give much of a reason other than he was going through something, and of course, his fanbase erupted. I don’t think they can handle the idea of their ray of sunshine not being in their lives.”

“If you aren’t on social media, how’d you figure this out?” Axel asked genuinely.

“Well get this, Riku fucking gets a clue and blows up to me. He called me yesterday and threw a fit over the fact that I kept talking with Sora about him in secret, as well as enlightened me to the whole social media situation. I just told him that what happens between him and Sora is his problem, and he’s telling me that Sora won't even talk to him now,” Roxas rambled and tilted his head back so it hit against the wall, “So I had to call and talk Sora into talking with Riku again. Thankfully, they seem to be sorting things out on that end. But, by this point, Kairi caught wind of Sora’s hiatus, so obviously, she’s concerned. And Sora, like the genius he is, tells her EVERYTHING.”

“Oh no,” Axel interjected with a whisper.

“Yeah, so she and Riku are at it now because she thinks Riku is forcing himself on to Sora. Sora can’t handle his two best friends fighting. And I don’t think he’s fully aware that it’s over him. Or maybe he is, but he can’t handle the idea of it,” Roxas sighed, “And I don’t even know what to tell him at this point. I’ve talked to him and Riku on and off for the past two days, and as far as I can tell-.”

Roxas paused, seeming to think about how to word things.

“It almost feels like they’ve been dating for a long time. The way the two of them have been talking about each other. It just doesn’t make sense. Sora was always calling me about Kairi. Why is it suddenly all about Riku now?” Roxas finally groaned into his hands.

“Was Sora always talking about Kairi, or was he just with Kairi so often that she was always in his conversations? And did he think he was crazy about Kairi because everyone thought he SHOULD be crazy about Kairi?” Axel asked, “I mean, they grew up together right? Obviously, people are gonna say they’ll end up married or something. That's just how it is with a guy and a girl hanging out.”

Roxas seemed to hang on to that thought.

“Listen, Roxas,” Axel started, “It’s not fair you are caught in the crossfire of all this. I know you’re trying to help your brother out, but what you’ve been doing by telling him to think for himself on this is the best thing you could do for him. If Sora makes a decision based on what others think, chances are he’s gonna end up unhappy in the end. Or at least not as happy as he could be.”

Roxas looked up at Axel. His expression was full of hope like he had just heard the word of god.

“You really think I’m going about this right?” Roxas asked genuinely.

“You shouldn’t even need to ask that. As long as you support Sora, you’re doing the right thing,” Axel promised. 

A tired smile crept across Roxas’s face. He rubbed his eyes and seemed to relax to the point that a little yawn escaped him.

“Cute...,” Axel murmured, then leaned into the smaller man. He placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Hey, let's get out of here for a little while. Sound good?”

Roxas scoffed softly.

“Back at getting me alone, I see,” Roxas teased.

“I promise you, this is strictly because you look like you're about to fall over. I just wanna help cheer you up a little bit. I make everyone I come in contact with happy, you see. It’s part of my long list of awesome traits,” Axel teased right back.

“Yeah yeah,” Roxas waved him off. 

The blonde stood silently for a bit, then seemed to come to terms with something internally.

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that, but I got to clear that I’m okay to go on break. After that, you have to abide by my one condition?” Roxas stated firmly.

“Oh, and what's that?” Axel asked in turn.

“You’ll see,” Roxas alluded while pulling out his walkie talkie. He brought it up to his lips and pressed one of the buttons. The walkie talkie crackled to life.

“Calling for the Queen. Can I take all of my breaks at once right now?” Roxas asked into the walkie talkie.

After a few moments, the walkie talkie crackled again.

“Oh Roxas, calling me Queen? You must really want this break. You got the color filters over lights A1 through A16?” Olette's staticky voice rang out from the system.

“Yes ma’am, and I’m working on securing the new lights. So I’m technically ahead of schedule,” Roxas explained, his eyes darting to Axel for a moment. 

Axel just gave him a double thumbs up.

“That’s what I like to hear. Alright, Roxas, you got an hour... give or take a few minutes. Enjoy your break,” Olette said cheerily to her coworker.

“10/4. Talk to you later,” Roxas responded before holstering his walkie talkie once more. He then clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

“Alright, to my car,” Roxas murmured determinedly.

“Are we going out somewhere?” Axel asked with a sudden burst of excitement, like a dog who just heard the word ‘walk’.

“Well... you’ll see,” the blonde promised with a cheeky grin dancing on his sleep-deprived features.

\------------------------

Axel studied the back of Roxas’s figure as he walked behind him through the halls of the theater. In his arms, he clutched a large black beanbag that he had been told to grab out of the blonde’s car. Speaking of the car, the bean bag still smelled like it. 

Axel found the smell quite pleasant.

“So... will you tell me what we are doing now?” Axel asked as he peered around the bag.

“Just keep following me, you’ll see,” Roxas promised, speaking over his shoulder. 

Axel noted the man’s nice shoulders. He still couldn’t believe the little shit was actually pretty built.

He went back to quietly eying the man up, wondering if he’d see him ever again after this week. The thought made him wonder if he should look harder or look away. 

Bright green eyes traveled to the two paper bags clutched in Roxas’s hands. 

They were filled with lots of random things, like incense and paper binders, in addition to quite a few different types of snack foods. When Roxas had grabbed these out of his car and turned to head back towards the building, Axel realized they weren’t going anywhere, rather he just wanted Axel to help him carry shit.

“Here we are.”

Roxas’s comment snapped Axel out of his daze and he stopped himself before he could bump into Roxas.

The blonde was standing before a staircase that was built into the wall and hidden by another wall, making it seem out of the way. It was sectioned off by a metal gate with a padlock on it.

“Is this the light booth?” Axel asked with a light laugh, “I’m not sure if I’m allowed up there.”

“Bingo, and technically no, you’re not allowed up there. But we won’t be up there long,” Roxas promised and set down his bags briefly. He fished his keyring off his toolbelt and sorted through the many keys on there, finally settling on one. He unlocked the padlock and motioned Axel to make his way up the stairs.

Axel obliged with a shrug and started his way up the staircase, stopping halfway to look back and wait for Roxas, who was working on relocking the padlock behind them.

“So if we won't be here long, why are you locking it again?” Axel asked, “Seems like a waste of time.”

“You’ll see,” Roxas stressed again and pushed him up the stairs farther, “Just keep moving.”

Axel didn’t really know what to think, but he didn’t have much choice other than going upward. 

“That door should be unlocked so you can just head in there,” Roxas instructed from behind him with a gesture.

Axel, obliging, opened the door and entered the dark room.

Roxas’s hand grazed the wall until his fingers fell upon the light switch, to which he promptly flicked on. 

The guitarist was met with bright fluorescent lights illuminating the light booth. It was what you would expect of a standard light booth, having a system to control lights at the head of the room as well as many sets of plugs and controls lining the back wall. There was also a small step ladder, a trash can, and a metal dresser. It was void of any spotlights, but Axel guessed that just meant they were installed elsewhere. 

“Very nice, very nice,” Axel commented mildly, “Did you need to grab anything up here or...”

“No, not exactly,” Roxas answered openly as he made his way across the room.

Axel decided to scan the ceiling and lazily asked, “Any security cams up here?...”

This is when Axel noticed the boot prints on the ceiling and nearby electronics cabinet in the corner of the room.

“Yeah there’s one, but I realized it shorted out at some point. I think the security people just assumed the fact that there is one up here will deter anyone from goofing off,” Roxas explained as he moved the step stool over to the corner under the boot prints.

“Roxas, why was someone walking on the ceiling?” Axel commented with an airy voice, genuinely confused by this weird detail.

“Oh, that’s just me. See I keep telling you Axel, you’ll see. It’s gonna all make sense real soon,” Roxas promised once again.

Axel watched as Roxas put both bags in one hand, climbed up on the stepstool, pushed his back up against the far wall, then pushed his boots up against the electronics cabinet. He slid himself up the wall a little bit, touched his other hand to the ceiling to push up the tile, and then slid it into the ceiling. Finally, he tossed the two bags up into the hole. All this time he did this as if it was no big deal.

Axel just stood there and watched him with his mouth slightly agape. 

Roxas finally looked at him and seemed satisfied with Axel’s expression.

“Are you gonna be able to get up here?” Roxas asked as he gestured into the hole.

“I... I hope so. I mean, fuck. Roxas, have you been hanging out in the ceiling?” Axel asked with a flabbergasted laugh. 

Roxas just gave him a wink, then sidled further up the wall on his back to the point that he could grab some solid ceiling and hoist himself up. After a moment of silence, he then poked his head down.

“Toss that beanbag to me then get your skinny ass up here,” Roxas ordered and disappeared back into the ceiling.

Axel felt as if the wind got knocked out of him. Or maybe it was more correct to say that Roxas took his breath away. Was this the same shy, nerdy yet super talented kid he remembered?

“Hurry up!” Roxas called down, causing Axel to walk over with a start.

The guitarist, after a test swing, underhand tossed the beanbag up into the ceiling, to which a pair of arms quickly secured it.

Now it was his turn to get up there.

Axel got himself up on the step stool and tried to mimic Roxas’s attempt, but the fact that Axel was quite a bit taller than the blonde created a few complications. One of which was the fact that he was extremely crunched up between the cabinet and the wall.

Roxas’s snickering figure could be faintly seen staring down at Axel from the dark of the cavern within the ceiling.

“Damn. It really sucks that you’re so tall,” Roxas taunted and crouched down to offer a hand.

“You’re just jealous,” Axel huffed back and didn’t take his hand. He thought to himself for a moment, then dropped back down onto the step stool.

“Chickening out?” Roxas mocked, though he didn’t seem happy about it.

“I think I just need a different approach,” the redhead hypothesized and snootily added, “You’ll see~.”

Roxas scoffed and stood back up, disappearing back into the darkness.

Axel rubbed his hands together a few times before eying up the ledge Roxas had hoisted himself up on. In one quick motion, Axel bent his knees and snapped back up, getting enough air that his fingers could wrap around the edge.  
Roxas’s expression spelled jealousy and Axel had to laugh.

“Who knew being tall would make this easy,” Axel boasted with a cocky smirk.

Roxas hovered his boot over one of Axel’s hands.

“Let’s see you pull yourself up here then,” Roxas taunted darkly, teasingly moving his boot closer to the hand.

“Oh god, please don’t. I need those fingers,” Axel pleaded and focused all of his strength into lifting himself into the hole in the ceiling, where he was met with total darkness. He then let out a proud sigh of relief while Roxas replaced the ceiling tile, cutting off the last of their light.

Just as Axel was gonna make a snarky comment about how neither of them could see, Roxas flipped on a flashlight and shined it directly at Axel.

“Jesus, don’t point that at me,” Axel laughed and shielded his face. He then added, “So, are we hanging out up here.”

“We’re almost there. Just pick up the beanbag and follow me,” Roxas eluded as he picked up his respective bags in one hand and began to make his way into the dark expanse of the theater’s roof.

Not wanting to be left behind up there, Axel was quick to get to his feet, retrieve the beanbag, and follow after his companion. 

“So is it safe to be up here?” Axel asked as he heard the ‘floor’ below them creak. Tiny holes that had appeared in the roof allowed Axel to see the expanse of the audience seating below them.

“Nothing has happened,” Roxas promised, then after a brief pause, added, “Yet.”

“Great,” Axel laughed dryly.

“I didn’t take you as such a worrywart, Axel,” Roxas teased, fully knowing this statement would push the man's buttons.

“I’m not! Honestly, I’m surprised you’re roaming around up here,” Axel admitted, “Aren’t you all about ‘workplace safety’ and ‘not trespassing’?”

Roxas looked back at him in the dark and questioned, “Is that how you view me?”

Axel reflected on that, and responded with, “I guess that's how I perceived the you I used to know. You really have changed, haven’t you?”

“No shit,” Roxas scoffed and left the conversation at that.

After a while of navigating the dark underbelly of the roof, Roxas stopped at a wall. He then crouched down and pointed out a decent sized square hole in it.

“This is it,” the blonde said triumphantly, “Head on in.”

“Uh... is this where you reveal to me that you’re in some theater cult organized by that Marluxia guy?” Axel questioned, eying up the hole.

“Dumbass,” Roxas sighed and disappeared into the hole without a second thought. 

Axel didn’t follow immediately after him. He could hear the blonde’s boots collide with the floor, but silence ensued. 

“Are you oka-,” Axel cut himself off as light poured out of the hole.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Now hop down here,” Roxas insisted. His voice was immediately followed by a lot of ruffling noises.

Axel sighed, shook his head, and proceeded to toss the beanbag into the hole. He then eased his way into the hole. Due to the faint light dancing around this secret room, Axel could see the floor he was jumping down on. Once he recovered from the jump, he was met with a Roxas grinning from ear to ear.

“Welcome to Communications Room Alpha,” Roxas said welcomingly, his arms outstretched, gesturing to the room around them.

Axel looked around, taking in what he saw.

The room was fairly small, probably about the same size as the light booth. At least half of the room was covered in old blankets, pillows, and different types of seating that Axel would consider comfortable. The edges of the ceiling were lined with dim fairy lights, but it was enough lighting for a room that size. Other than that, the room contained a table, a mini-fridge, and a plastic file cabinet as furniture. Axel also picked up on the laundry basket full of snacks next to a case of water. 

“Oh wow... Did you do this?” Axel asked as he made his way around the room, checking it out more.

“Yep,” Roxas beamed proudly. The dim lighting helped erase his previously tired features.

Axel continued to look around more and came upon something that made him grin uncontrollably.

“It’s your bass!” Axel exclaimed and pointed to the familiar instrument, set in its respective bass stand next to a small amp and speaker.

“Oh... yeah. I still play when I get the chance. You know, like on my breaks,” Roxas explained himself as he smiled sheepishly. He was in the process of moving the beanbag into the mess of blankets and unloading the paper bags.

“So you WERE the one I was hearing in the walls yesterday!” Axel breathed as he put a hand to his forehead, “Jeez, I thought I was crazy. How in the world did you come upon this place?”

“Well... apparently this used to be the room with all the electronics in it. They wanted to keep the breaker cases, wifi router, unused equipment, and like, a bunch of other junk all in the same place. Probably to, like, keep things easy to find. It was kinda like a storage room, I guess. But, the only way you could access the room was from a ladder in a back hallway. It was so inconvenient, that they just decided to board the room up and remove the ladder,” Roxas explained with a sort of vigor, “That was already years ago, but I happened upon an old map that included this room. After a little exploring, I was able to find that vent entrance.”

Roxas pointed up to the hole they had entered through.

“I removed the vent, and the rest was history. No one else seems to know about this place,” Roxas finished as he unloaded the last of his groceries.

“No one? What about the owner?” Axel asked as he helped himself to a seat in a bungee chair, his weight sinking into the stretchy cords and only holding him a few inches from the ground.

“I don’t think Marluxia knows anything about this building,” Roxas grumbled, “Plus, there are no security cams in here either. It’s as if this room doesn’t even exist.

Roxas swung open the mini-fridge, and then looked back at Axel with a small smile, “Consider yourself lucky, you’re one of the three people who know of this room’s existence.”

Axel felt a weird tightness in his chest. With the way Roxas talked about the room and all, he couldn’t help that feel that Roxas welcoming him into this space was a huge gesture. And he felt touched.

“So... you, me and Olette?” Axel offered.

“Nope. Olette knows I disappear, but she has no idea exactly where,” Roxas revealed. There was a weird expression clouding his face, but he seemed rather nervous about disclosing that information.

Axel felt his chest tighten further, and he happily let his eyes wander around him. That’s when he saw the bong next to his chair.

“Um... Roxas? There’s a bong in here,” Axel expressed hollowly as he pointed to the object next to him.

Roxas stared at it for a long while, then laughed nervously.

“No way...,” Axel started, a small smile creeping across his face.

“Uh... you wouldn’t want some pot, would you?” Roxas offered with an anxious grin, his hand finding his hair nervously.

“You smoke?! I had no clue! I can’t recall ever smoking up with you in high school,” the guitarist exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief. Was he dreaming today? Should he pinch himself?

“I actually didn’t pick it up until the second semester of my freshman year in college. It was introduced to me... after some things happened,” Roxas trailed off and seemed to space out entirely.

Axel noticed this, and tilted his head, “Roxas?”

“Anyway!” Roxas quickly picked himself back up, “You never answered my question.”

“Oh, well...,” Axel murmured as he started to rummage around in his inner jacket pocket, before producing a dab pen, “Only if you allow me to trade hits.”

Roxas laughed, not seeming all too surprised that he had that on his person. Roxas then made his way to the plastic file cabinet. From within it, Roxas produced two pre-wrapped blunts.

Instead of melting into a pile of mush at this sight, Axel decided to voice another question.

“Not worried about setting off a fire alarm?” Axel asked in a daze, watching the blonde approach him. He had also tucked a bag of chips and a water bottle under his arm.

“Actually...,” Roxas started with a shaky whisper. He seemed to be getting more embarrassed by the second, “I might have... dismantled the smoke alarm in here a while ago when I was high. And now I can’t for the life of me find some of the parts.”

Axel stared at him blankly.

“What?” Roxas asked with a paranoid tone as he took his seat across from Axel, placing his back against the wall.

Axel opened his mouth, then promptly closed it again.

“What?!” Roxas prompted further with more vigor this time.

“Now I’m saying this as a supportive friend, but I really wanna make out with you right now,” Axel admitted in a monotone.

Roxas just scoffed at the comment. The blonde then stretched out his arm and offered Axel one of the blunts and a lighter. 

“Ladies first,” Roxas added to his gesture.

Axel happily took the two objects from Roxas with a ‘thank you’. He then, in turn, offered his pen to Roxas.

“You sure?” Roxas asked, eyeing the pen.

“Of course. You’re sharing with me, so I’m gonna share with you,” Axel expressed nonchalantly.

Roxas didn’t need further encouragement and he thankfully took the pen.

“You wrap these yourself?” Axel asked as he brought the blunt up to his lips, using the lighter to burn the end.

“Hayner did those for me as a gift actually. I can wrap my own, but he’s better at it,” Roxas explained as he turned Axel’s pen on. He then seemed to wait for Axel to go first.

Axel couldn't help but mutter, ‘cute’, as he took his first drag from the blunt. He could feel a very strong burn in his throat but refused to cough in front of Roxas. He gave the man across from him a thumbs up to signal he was all good.

Roxas seemed pleased and took his own hit, sharing a quiet moment as he held the hit in his lungs. 

Axel watched him with a half-lidded gaze, giving a few approving nods and a grin, to which Roxas looked away in a way that could almost be described as bashful.

“So... you’re gonna play for me right?” Axel hummed as he gestured to the bass a few paces away from them.

“You want me too?” Roxas questioned as he slumped further into his seat.

Axel nodded encouragingly.

“God, it’s been so long since I heard you play. You were good then, I can only imagine what you sound like now,” Axel expressed vehemently, holding his arms out in front of him with clenched fists.

Roxas, having his ego thoroughly stroked, rose to his feet and moved towards his bass guitar.

“W-well, if you insist...,” Roxas laughed lightly as his fingers wrapped around the neck of the instrument. He then returned to his seat and hunched slightly over the instrument. 

With a soft, almost tender smile, Roxas plucked a few of the cords in a quick pattern, traveling up and down the neck of the bass with his other hand. Once he seemed content with how he sounded, he looked up at Axel. The look on his face made it quite apparent that he had forgotten he was there.

“Welcome back, space cadet,” Axel hummed warmly, “Feeling warmed up?”

“Yeah...,” Roxas said softly, a smile still hanging on his lips, “What do you want to hear?”

Axel tilted his head back to look up at the dim ceiling, trying his best to think about what he wanted to hear. Honestly, just hearing Roxas make something up was absolutely perfect. He honestly sounded amazing. He was amazing.

“Let me guess, you wanna hear...,” Roxas snapped Axel out of his daze with the start of the statement. He was glaring down at his instrument, seeming to be trying to figure out where to start. He then snapped back up.

“I bet you wanna hear this,” Roxas accused before crossing his eyes, sticking his tongue out, and pluckily playing out the bass riff for ‘Holiday’. 

Axel laughed heartily at the mocking way Roxas played.

“Get asked to play that a lot?” Axel questioned as he took another drag of his blunt.

“You have no idea,” Roxas groaned, “Every time someone learns I can play the bass they go, ‘oh, can you play ‘Holiday’?’, ‘can you play ‘Holiday’?’”

Roxas clicked his tongue and shook his head, seeming to have worked himself up a little bit.

“You’re adorable,” Axel commented.

“Oh, fuck, this one too!” Roxas exclaimed before proceeding to play ‘Seven Nation Army’ in the same mocking manner. He didn’t seem to hear Axel’s prior comment.

The redhead just had to chuckle.

Roxas plucked out a few more notes, then excitedly returned to Axel.

“I got it, I got it! I know what to play,” Roxas decided, then began to play a repeated pattern softly. His eyes danced attentively over the cords as he moved his fingers in tandem. After a while, he began to hum along with a melody. Then, when he had relaxed completely, he opened his mouth and sang quietly:

‘I never want to leave this sunset town  
But one day the time may come  
And I'll take you at your word  
And carry on  
I'll hate the goodbye  
But I won't forget the good times  
I won't forget the good times’

And as if suddenly aware of what he just did, he stopped playing altogether and started to laugh nervously in turn.

“G-get it? It’s like you... sorta. You know? When you left Twilight Town?” Roxas stuttered, fiddling with the frets in a passive manner.

Axel’s heart was pounding, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. It was definitely because of Roxas, of course. But, he wasn’t sure why this action had sent his mind reeling. Roxas was a musician. HE was a musician. He wanted to sing and play along with Roxas if it killed him. But all he could do was stare at him with a look of pure adoration. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” the blonde murmured quietly, unable to meet Axel’s eyes. Was he blushing? 

Axel felt like he was coming unraveled. He needed more weed.

Roxas had put Axel’s pen back in his mouth and took a hit quietly with a stormy expression. He then kept the pen between his lips before realizing with a start.

“Shit, sorry I didn’t mean to take more,” Roxas said, flustered. He held out the pen to Axel to take it back.

“Take as much as you want,” Axel spoke as if it was encouraged, then decided to keep the cute blonde talking, “Hey, wanna play a questions game?”

“A questions game?” Roxas asked curiously.

The redhead nodded slowly with a smirk.

“Like, I ask something and you HAVE to answer, and then you can do the same,” Axel explained, having to pause a few times to formulate his thoughts.

Roxas seemed thoroughly convinced and stated, “Yeah sure, ask away.”

“Okay Roxy~,” Axel purred and tried to sit up more, though the way the chair was built made it hard, “Have you ever dated anyone?”

Roxas scoffed immediately.

“What, are we in high school again?” Roxas mocked.

“Answer the damn question, Roxas,” Axel threatened, “Yer breakin’ the rules already.”

“Yes. I’ve dated someone,” Roxas answered in monotone.

“SomeONE? Who, who, who?” the redhead egged him on, wanting to hear the details of Axel’s past competitor.

“I answered your question. It’s my turn now,” the blonde pointed out matter-of-factly.

“What?! No fair that was a child’s play question,” Axel whined, “Answer this one too.”

“Nope, it’s my turn,” Roxas said firmly, then added, “And because you broke the rules, you can’t ask that other question again.”

“Those aren’t in the official rules!” Axel protested.

“Show me the rule book,” Roxas retorted.

Axel fell silent, then growled, “Ask your accursed question.”

Roxas put on a smirk, satisfied that he had won.

Axel wanted to fuck that cockiness right out of him. 

Wait, what was going on?

“Alright hotshot, what’s with the teardrops,” Roxas questioned and sassily pointed his fingers at his own face where the tattoos would be.

“Call me hotshot again,” Axel spoke in a low, breathy chest voice.

Roxas bit his lip.

Axel caught that. 

He was gonna commit that to memory too. 

“Answer the fucking question dick-nose,” Roxas repeated himself after recovering.

Axel blew a raspberry in protest, then took a deep breath.

“So when ‘For Naught Baptiste’ was still a little baby band, we did a lot of the stereotypical ‘rockstar’ things, you dig?” Axel began to explain, using his hands to talk.

“So... you did crack?” Roxas offered.

“I did crack,” Axel confirmed with a nod of his head, “But in addition to that, I did a lot of dumb things, including getting face tattoos when I was... ‘mentally unconscious’.”

“You took drugs and got spontaneous face tattoos?” Roxas offered again.

“Yes,” Axel confirmed adamantly, “At first I was SUPER upset with myself. I mean, my gorgeous face! What had I done? But honestly, they really grew on me. Literally. They’re on me.”

“Sure shit...,” Roxas humored him, “Honestly, you really do make them work.”

“Wanna get a closer look?” Axel purred.

“Your turn to ask a question,” Roxas deflected innocently.

Axel thought for a moment, then came up with the perfect question to just absolutely rock that cocky brats world.

“So when you had this supposed crush on me in high school... did you ever wack off to the thought of me?” Axel questioned lowly, looking the brat directly in the eyes.

“W- Wait wa. Uh, um-” Roxas stumbled over his mouth, his eyes quickly darting away from Axel, “Of course not! That's fucking weird!”

Axel pouted.

“Are you lying to me?” Axel accused.

“No!” the blonde reiterated. He set his bass aside and grumpily tore into the bag of chips he brought over. 

Axel snickered and added, “You can get almost as grumpy looking as Saix can.”

The bassist snapped his head to look at Axel then seemed to get envigored.

“Yeah! That’s my next question. What the hell is that Saix guy’s deal? Every time he sees me he just gives me this... ‘look’. What did I ever do to him?” Roxas questioned, stuffing his hand into the chip bag.

Axel frowned slightly and questioned further.

“He gives you dirty looks?”

“Yeah, that's all he gives me. Even when I complimented his playing,” Roxas pouted.

Axel sighed deeply and looked towards the ceiling once again. He should have expected this to happen.

“Fuck, it’s probably because I’m always trying to sneak away and see you. He’s probably... well he won’t admit it. But yeah, he’s probably jealous,” Axel explained, unable to keep his irritation from manifesting.

“Jealous?” Roxas questioned.

“Yeah. See, Saix is my ex,” Axel said simply and tried to sit up once again. When he was unable to, he just decided to take another hit of his blunt.

“Your ex!!!” Roxas exclaimed, “He’s jealous of me because... wait you gotta explain Axel.”

Axel looked over his companion's expression, and he could tell he wasn’t getting out of this one.

“I don’t really wanna kill the mood,” Axel grumbled, trying to avoid the conversation anyway.

“You can’t drop a bombshell on me like that and then not follow through. Plus, apparently, this has to do with me now. I have a right to know,” Roxas decided. 

“It’s not a happy story,” Axel continued, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Not every story is,” the blonde offered. And Axel knew he was right.

“Okay Roxas, I give. Strap in, this is a little bit of a long one,” Axel finally got himself out of his seat and instead took a new seat next to Roxas. 

Thankfully, Roxas didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he offered Axel the chip bag. 

The redhead took it with a mumbled ‘thanks’. He then, in turn, offered the smaller man the last good hit of his blunt.

Instead of Roxas taking it from him, he simply leaned in instead. Without a word exchanged between them, he took a drag right from Axel’s fingers, moving his hair out of his face slightly during the process. He then held it in his lungs for a while and exhaled as he propped himself against the wall once more. Then, he pulled a pillow into his lap and looked to Axel to continue his story.

“Ashtray?” Axel breathed out the question.

“Oh... fuck it’s over there...,” Roxas groaned and gestured somewhere.

“I’ll just set it on my knee,” Axel decided and did just that. Then he continued with, “Where was I?”

“Saix and you used to date?” Roxas offered curiously, seeming to be just intrigued now.

“Right,” Axel sighed and popped a chip into his mouth.

“So here’s my story, it's sad but true!~,” the redhead suddenly sang out in an exaggerated manner.

“Stop deflecting,” Roxas accused.

“Sorry...,” Axel whispered, being seen right through, “So. Over the summer after Demyx and I graduated, we were struggling with figuring out where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do with ourselves. We knew we really weren’t university material, so we were pretty much set on learning a trade. But I wasn’t exactly happy with that. So, I kinda slipped into a little depression. It was during that time that I met Saix over a hookup app.”

Roxas nodded his head, seeming to be listening attentively. 

Axel continued.

“Saix and I really hit it off. I mean, he quickly kinda became the level head to my crazy. We... I guess we complemented each other. And suddenly, everything seemed right in the world. Especially since Saix expressed to me his idea for a band. Just like that, Saix, Demyx, and I formed ‘For Naught Baptiste’ for fun. We played small gigs over the summer and picked up Zexion along the way. He was a friend of a friend of Saix’s, I think. You get the point.”

“Yeah,” Roxas said softly. He had a kind, understanding smile on his features.

“I’m glad you were doing well,” Roxas expressed.

“Yeah. Things were pretty great. We quickly gained traction after that, and we blew up soon after,” Axel continued with a proud smile, then his features darkened, “But with that came a whole lot of stress and responsibility... that I don’t think I was prepared for. Saix, being the man he is, quickly stepped up his game. And I was slowly getting left behind,” Axel trailed off, his jaw setting into a frown.

“Every day we would argue. And I mean argue over EVERYTHING. The four of us were living together at the time, so our work and personal lives were literally intertwined. We didn’t have the luxury to just go back to being kids in love. And then the rest undid itself. We lost our spark and only seemed to get it back when we were drunk or horny enough. And I realized that I was even more depressed than I was before. So I thought the best idea was to end things.”

“And he wasn’t ready,” Roxas spoke understandingly.

“No. No he wasn’t. If he wasn’t allowed to love me, he decided that loathing me was the next best option. With him hovering over my shoulder, I never felt like I could move on to someone new. My options were being single, or being with him. And I wasn’t going to go back into that mess,” Axel admitted dryly, “Don’t get me wrong, I still really appreciate the guy, but I can’t look at him without remembering the terrible things we said to each other.”

Axel felt his eyes start to burn as he remembered the late-night arguments that had become a daily issue. He felt it best to leave out the fact he had been just as much of an asshole to Saix as he had been to him.

Roxas was silent for a long while. 

Before the silence could get awkward though, Roxas scooted a little closer to Axel. He reached his hand over to the chip bag in Axel’s lap and pulled out a handful.

Axel could tell he was trying to make things feel ‘normal’ like they were before the conversation, and Axel appreciated that. He wanted to avoid spending his time with Roxas being remorseful.

“Damn, I wish you would have grabbed a little lower,” Axel tried to joke.

“You made the right decision,” the blonde stated.

“What?” Axel questioned.

“You two were in an abusive relationship, whether you like it or not. You two just weren’t meant to be,” Roxas lamented, “I-I’m not trying to be, like, CEO of understanding relationships, but I just. I guess I know how it is. To a degree.”

“Oh?” Axel asked softly.

“Anyway, it seems like it took the merging of your career and your love life for the rose-tinted glasses to come off. And I think you made the right decision for both of you. Even if he doesn’t realize it now,” Roxas stated and looked up to Axel hopefully, “He’ll get over it. And he’s gonna end up thanking you for it.”

After a moment, Axel smiled softly.

“...thanks Roxas,” the guitarist whispered genuinely into Roxas’s ear.

“A-anyway, it seems like I’m not the only one having relationship problems. I-I mean with Sora! Sora’s relationship problems. They’re kinda my problems now too, you know?” Roxas stuttered, shying away from Axel’s close proximities.

“Yeah, I bet you have lots of good dating advice, but maybe butt out of it for Sora’s sake,” Axel reiterated, “Don’t make his problems your problems.”

“I know...You’re right,” Roxas agreed softly, “But if there's one thing I fucking despise, it's seeing Sora upset and being unable to help him. He’s my twin. We just... we just are always there for each other, you know? His pain is mine.”

Roxas choked up slightly but quickly recovered.

“ANYWAY, I just wanted to... thank you,” Roxas mumbled, rubbing the back of his head in the way he always seemed to do when he was nervous.

“What for?” Axel asked softly, cranking his head to look at the smaller man.

“For listening to me vent about my brother's situation. I know I probably sound like I’m overprotective, or complaining too much, but this shit gets to me. I think I really needed to get it off my chest. I feel pretty fucking relaxed for once. OH, and thank you for carrying the beanbag up here. It saved me a trip,” Roxas looked to his companion and spoke with genuine gratitude.

“Did you bring all of this up here yourself?” Axel asked before he realized the question was stupid.

“Yep!” Roxas proclaimed proudly.

“Fuck... even the mini-fridge?” Axel continued.

Roxas smirked at the redhead with a playful glint in his eyes. He then moved away from the wall and placed himself in front of the other man instead. He did this in order to give himself room to flex his biceps.

“I’m shredded Axel, carrying that was no big deal,” Roxas boasted, “I understand. You can feel them if you want.”

Axel smirked.

“Oh? Thank you for the invitation~” Axel cooed and set the chip bag aside, dropping the end of the blunt in it as well.

In one swift movement, Axel moved to wrap his arms around Roxas’s toned waist. He then yanked him violently so the smaller man had no option but to fall back into his lap.

“You’re right! You are pretty damn muscular...~,” Axel hummed as he moved his hands up the blonde’s abdomen. He was prepared for the man to wrestle himself out of his grasp at any second. Axel didn’t think he could hold his own long against the little powerhouse.

Instead, all Roxas did was let out a shaky breath.

The two sat in silence for a little bit.

“Did you... just moan?” Axel whispered airly.

“No,” Roxas shut him down quickly, “Now let go of me.”

But Axel didn’t let go, and Roxas didn’t struggle to get away.

The guitarist felt his heart begin to hammer fiercely again. 

Roxas wasn’t going anywhere. And he wasn’t complaining. And he was pretty fucking positive he heard the guy moan.

He wanted to hear it again.

“Your actions contradict your words Roxy~,” Axel hummed as resumed gently brushing his fingers across Roxas’s abdomen. He slowly tested hooking a finger under Roxas’s shirt.

The blonde’s breath was beginning to become sort of uneven.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the bassist whispered, his eyes slowly traveling to meet Axel’s. There was a curious glint reflecting in his dark blue orbs.

Axel couldn’t believe his ears. Roxas was totally flirting back.

“Damn, you’re really testing me...,” Axel laughed weakly and softly buried his face in the blonde’s hair. It was just as soft as it looked, and it smelled pretty damn good too. 

Axel felt Roxas relax further, his back pressing flush against his own chest.

“What are you gonna do about it? Hotshot~,” Roxas put emphasis on the last part.

Axel laughed darkly and shook his head.

“Oh, you’re fucking asking for it,” Axel growled.

Without a second thought, Axel slid his hands underneath the blonde’s t-shirt. He was quick to trace his fingers over the man’s abs, memorizing how they dipped slightly. Axel couldn’t help feeling a little jealous of the little fucker. He emphasized this by moving up to press his hands over the smaller man’s chest. It wasn’t a surprise that he had some pretty nice tits on him too.

“Damn, my loathing for your muscles is almost overshadowing how hard I wanna fuck you right now,” Axel snarled as he ghosted his lips over Roxas’s reddening ears.

Roxas let out a soft whimper as Axel massaged his chest tentatively. He tried to recover by stating, “Maybe you should come workout with us sometime. I... I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”

“Fuck, I wish we had the time while I was here. Watching you work out... fuck yeah,” Axel spoke huskily. He then ran his tongue over the shell of Roxas’s ear, reveling as he shivered in his arms.

“How about we get a little more comfortable...,” Axel suggested as he began to remove the smaller man’s shirt.

With a sudden burst, Roxas wrestled himself out of Axel’s arms and to his feet. With a little flash of panic in his eyes, he quickly adjusted his shirt.

“A-actually I gotta get back to work. I’ve been up here way too long. You understand, right?” Roxas stuttered, looking everywhere but at Axel.

“Oh come on!” Axel groaned, “I’m hard as fuck now... and these aren’t really the best pants for that.”

“I can tell,” Roxas murmured, then shook his head, “Anyway! I gotta get back down to ground level. You’re free to continue to hang up here if you want. I’ll leave the gate unlocked.”

“Eh,” Axel grumbled and reluctantly got himself to his feet as well, “I ain’t gonna be able to find my way back. Fun times over... I guess.”

He then made his pout VERY prominent.

“Don’t be like that. I’m on the clock, bro,” Roxas expressed, tidying the room up slightly as he did so.

“So now I’m ‘bro’? Damn, I liked hotshot better. It fits better with the fact that I almost got the chance to rail you,” Axel grumbled.

Roxas strained out a forced laugh, but he still refused to meet Axel's eyes.

“Let’s just get out of here,” Roxas deflected.

With a heavy sigh and a rock hard cock, Axel collected his pen and responded gloomily.

“10/4.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song References:  
> 'Holiday' - By Green Day  
> 'Seven Nation Army' - By The White Stripes  
> 'Good Times' - By All Time Low
> 
> Thank you all so much again for reading!  
> We've surpassed 250 hits, and I'd say that's pretty damn good for my first fanfic! Especially since I'm not even done yet.  
> Sorry if this chapter was a little bit of a tease. It's all part of the plan XP  
> I hope you continue to read on, and please give me your thoughts if you would like to share!
> 
> Thank you for your support!  
> -JuiceCSushi


	8. Wednesday: More Alone Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas goes to his designated happy place and stumbles upon a sleeping dragon ;) 
> 
> ...
> 
> I'm high, don't expect literary genius from me rn

Roxas quietly replaced the ceiling tile in the light booth, cutting off his access to a light source. Before he could let his eyes fully adjust to the darkness of the theaters ‘attic’, he flicked on his flashlight. 

He was used to the routine. He did it a couple of times a week. But he felt that, because of the sudden stress he was feeling, he was up here a little more often than normal. 

Roxas navigated the expanse before him simply using his muscle memories. He’d climb over clutter, move around old pillars and avoid weakening sections of the ceiling just like he did many times before. Then he’d finish by finding the far wall and tracing it deeper. 

The blonde feared he was reaching his mental threshold. Too many things were happening at once and he was losing the ability to juggle it all. Years and years of the same ‘stress, decompress’ routine was helping him tackle anything thrown at him while also ultimately breaking him down. And he couldn’t recall a situation more stressful than these past few days.

The three best friends' massive fight, the incoming concert, Axel, and now the fact he had totally forgotten finals week was two weeks from now, all loomed over him like a grand piano on a straining rope. 

Roxas could see the light from Communications Room Alpha coming closer and closer as he continued along the wall. He only then realized that the light wasn’t supposed to be on. 

Had he forgotten about turning it off when he left with Axel the other day? He wouldn’t doubt it. They had left on a... weird note the other day.

A sudden shock ran up Roxas’s back as he remembered Axel’s hands-on him the day before. His hands were warm and sort of calloused, no doubt from his constant guitar playing. They left a fiery sensation wherever they had touched. Fitting. 

He shook his head as he came upon the room. Axel was one of his problems, but he was a weird problem. He was kinda like the problem you know isn’t good for you, but you keep pushing your luck anyway because you’re chasing the feeling. And no matter how many times you tell yourself you’re smarter than this, you just keep letting yourself get swayed. 

But not today. 

He made sure to properly avoid the guy today.

Roxas jumped down into the room, the satisfying tingle of the impact on his legs welcomed. It was a sign that he was back to being detached from the rest of the world. This was his universe.

A sudden groan sounded from the section of the room with all of the blankets and pillows. This was quickly followed by a lanky figure with a mop of tousled red hair sitting up from their previously reclined position.

Axel yawned deeply and rubbed his eye with the back of his hand. He then lazily muttered, “hey Roxy. What time is it?”

Roxas just stared at him with a look of disbelief. He wasn’t mad. Just suddenly really, really, REALLY exhausted.

“What’s up?” Axel asked with a tinge of concern, “Have another rough day?”

“So you made your way up here I see,” Roxas murmured.

“Yeah... I asked you if I could take a nap up here over text, but you never answered me. I just decided to push my luck. Did I... succeed?” Axel asked with strained hopefulness.

“Whatever,” Roxas just sighed, not having the will to battle with him over this, “you didn’t smoke my weed though, right?”

“Of course not! Who do you think I am?” Axel mocked disbelief before laying back down on his back.

Roxas went to go get himself a blunt from the drawer, eager to place it between his lips and light it. He pulled a rather long drag.

Axel gave him a moment to let the pull sink in.

“So... now that you’re here and all settled in... Are you gonna pay me back for yesterday?” Axel questioned in an accusatory manner.

“Payback for what?” Roxas asked and pulled again, grabbing the same chip bag from the other day off the table.

“For leaving me high and dry.” Axel reminded as he rolled on to his side, “You ran outta time then, but you seem to have time right now.” 

Roxas’s eyes stayed trained on the chip bag. He was quick to spot the end of the blunt from yesterday in there, so he set the bag aside with a sigh of disgust.

“What are you going on about?” Roxas turned to face Axel finally, leaning slightly against the table.

Axel’s eyes seemed to dart over him quickly, but it could have been a trick of the light.

“Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday,” Axel encouraged, “come on, we had something going on there.”

Roxas looked away from him once again in a bland attempt to pretend he didn’t hear him a second time. He let his eyes lazily scan anywhere but at Axel.

“Fuck,” Axel whined weakly, “well at least do me a different favor then.”

“And what’s that?” Roxas turned back, giving him his attention again.

“Play with me,” Axel purred. 

Before Roxas could be a diva again, Axel gestured over to Roxas’s bass with a light laugh.

Roxas looked at his instrument, and it didn’t take him long to be intrigued by the proposition.

“Do you have your guitar and an amp?” Roxas asked. That would be the only thing stopping them at this point.

“I got my acoustic up here,” Axel informed as he gestured to the guitar case Roxas just didn’t notice before.

“That’ll work,” Roxas shrugged and took another small drag from the blunt before walking over to Axel and offering it to him.

The taller man pressed his hands together in thanks and gladly accepted the gift. 

Roxas got his bass, sat down next to the amp, plugged it in, and turned it down enough so it wouldn’t overshadow the softer guitar. He then warmed up a little bit as Axel finished off the blunt at an impressive rate.

“Don’t make yourself sick,” Roxas warned as he focused the speed of his fingers over the frets of his instrument.

“And don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’ve been doing this kinda nonstop for years now,” Axel hummed as he got up and walked the end of the blunt over to the ashtray. He then took a seat across from Roxas with his guitar in hand.

“I know this isn’t ideal... but I’m not a little dynamo like you. It’d take me a few years to haul my amp up here,” Axel explained with a heavy sigh, hamming up his disappointment.

“Get yourself a smaller, more portable amp. I’m sure you got the cash for it,” Roxas shrugged.

Axel just gave an unsure noise as a response.

“It’s whatever,” Roxas murmured, “This seems like fun. I’ll take what I can get.”

“Nice positivity,” Axel scoffed and strummed a few chords, “Another rough day?”

“Same shit, different day,” Roxas laughed weakly.

“Well let’s forget about it for a little while,” Axel encouraged with a relaxed voice. He then began to just play. 

Roxas listened to him for a little while, soaking in what Axel was doing. It was obvious he wasn’t playing anything in particular, but for just messing around, it sounded really good. 

When he felt prepared enough, Roxas started to play along.

For the two of them, the passing of time just faded away as they played, their rhythms melding into each other. They’d take turns taking the lead, and would stumble more often than once, which caused them to break down into little laughing fits. But for every few moments they spent laughing, they were quick to start up playing again. Never once did they try to take too much control. They offered suggestions to each other, tried to play, fucked up, laughed, and then devolved back into a slew of impromptu rhythms. It was music for the sake of music. It wasn’t preparing for an impending concert. It wasn’t forced or difficult.

It was just music.

“Do you think I’m better than your bassist?” Roxas asked as he ironically flubbed his rhythm pattern.

“It’s hard to compare. Zexion is one of the most skillful bassists I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He’s always prepared and never fucks up. But he’s very cut and dry with his playing. He’s gonna play exactly what's expected of him. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Axel explained.

“I kinda got that impression off of him,” Roxas agreed.

“BUT, you got the raw talent. Zexion works unbelievably hard to be as good as he is. You can just feel what’s right. But you also fuck up, because sometimes what you feel is right, doesn’t quite make it out skill wise... do you get what I’m saying?” Axel questioned when he saw Roxas’s dazed expression.

“...yeah, yeah I think I do,” Roxas responded, and he began to nod his head impassionedly when it sunk in, “That was actually a really interesting, and surprisingly accurate observation.”

Roxas tilted his head back as he mulled over the realization.

“Sometimes when I hear music, I can just tell what would make it better. But sometimes I just can’t replicate it. I don’t have the opportunity to practice as Zexion does, but I’m not gonna give up. I really fucking love the bass, man,” Roxas lamented with a soft laugh.

“I’ll be pissed if you ever give it up. I fucking wish I had more chances to play with you,” Axel whined, then leaned in slightly to Roxas, “wanna hear a secret?”

“What?” Roxas asked, turning his attention back to the guitarist.

“I think if you were in For Naught Baptiste, we would sound better because we vibe better,” Axel divulged, “I love Zexion. He’s a little edgy shit but he’s honestly a really cool kid. But he’s just... way too easily impacted by things. Show business wrecks that guy, and that's literally his line of work. So basically he’s always an anxious mess.”

Axel continued his rant, Roxas attentively listening along.

“Demyx and I have great stage chemistry because we’re bros. We’ve had years to show each other our true colors, and I’d literally pull any stunt with him on stage and see if it flies. Saix is... a great actor. I mean, there are glimmers of when the old spark comes back, but when that doesn’t happen we can make up for it. Zexion just doesn’t have that ability. But we would vibe on stage, right?”

“We HAVE vibed on stage before Ax. Back in high school and during karaoke. Right?” Roxas offered, getting up to put his base back in the stand.

“Yeah, but imagine playing a venue together now. Any venue!” Axel expressed as he moved to set his guitar back in its case, sharing the sentiment that he was good with being done with playing for the day.

Roxas stilled for a moment as the grand thoughts filled his head. He pictured himself ON stage at the Twilight Town Theater, not looking at it from above. He imagined the lights trained on him for once. He’d have his bass with him, and if he were to look towards center stage, Axel would be there. Smiling back at him...

Roxas eased himself out of the thought even if it brought a bittersweet feeling with it.

Playing bass at a professional level was his dream for a very long time. He never thought he’d ever get there, sure, but that was ‘the dream’. And playing for For Naught Baptiste, honestly, sounded perfect. 

“You’re right, you’d probably hate it. The drama is DREADFUL,” Axel sighed and put the back of his hand to his head in an exacerbated manner. 

“Yeah, I already can’t stand you enough...,” Roxas sighed, sort of gaslighting him on purpose.

“Aw... really? Still?” Axel huffed with a pout, “I keep thinking that we are hitting it off...”

Roxas finally let a tired laugh seep through.

“We are, actually. Come on, you’re gonna show me Sora’s social media now,” Roxas instructed and headed to sit with his back against the wall again. He looked to Axel expectantly and patted the cushion next to him.

Axel quickly stumbled over the soft materials scattered across the ground and took his seat next to the blonde.

“Oh, this is gonna be good~. Promise me not to flip out too hard?” Axel expressed giddily as he fished out his phone and unlocked it.

Roxas decided to push it. What the heck.

“You’ll just have to comfort me then,” Roxas said nonchalantly and kept his eyes trained on Axel’s phone.

There was silence for a moment.

“Can I... can I flirt back?” Axel asked genuinely.

Roxas laughed again.

“Yes. I’m giving you permission to flirt back for the duration of my break,” Roxas bestowed this honor upon him.

“Yes!” Axel hissed quietly, pulling a fist towards himself in glee. 

Axel scooted a little closer to Roxas and angled his phone so they could both see it well enough.

“Have you seen your brother stream?” Axel asked as he hovered his thumb over the Twitch application.

“Yeah. Sometimes I put him on in the background when I’m doing homework. I don’t interact or read the comments but I want to be supportive, you know?” Roxas expressed.

“Have you ever gone on stream with him before?” Axel asked curiously, “I’m sure you’d be a hit with his followers too.”

“He’s asked me too, but I always decline. I don’t really wanna get wrapped up in all of that,” Roxas explained further.

“I bet you would have fun,” Axel eluded and gave him an expecting look.

“...maybe one day. Now lemme see Sora’s Instagram,” Roxas demanded. He was sick of leaning close to Axel but hovering so he wouldn’t directly touch him, so he just decided to lean against him.

Axel didn’t mind one bit.

The redhead opened up the app without a moment of delay. It briefly flashed on his homepage before he swapped over to his profile. 

Roxas was able to catch a quick glimpse of Axel’s top row of pictures, but Axel was quick to click on his follower list.

“Wow... that's a lot of followers...,” Roxas mused as the guitarist scrolled through the list.

“What? No, not really?” Axel feigned ignorance. He could have easily searched for Sora’s user, but he wanted to show off a little. 

“So modest...,” Roxas scoffed.

Axel eventually found Sora’s username, ‘destinys0ra_’.

“You know he told me he’s trying to find a better name, but he thinks this one has stuck too much at this point,” Roxas brought up an old conversation he and his brother had had. He missed their more pointless conversations. The ones that were spontaneous and fun.

“Is that so?” Axel hummed as he clicked on the profile. He scrolled slowly to allow Roxas to absorb what he was seeing.

Roxas looked on with a soft smile. There were a lot of nice pictures of Sora smiling, or with his friends, or with the family. He was quick to notice that Sora didn’t have any sense of personal space, no matter who it was. Sora was constantly leaning up against, or in the arms of, people he didn’t know personally. He was realizing that Sora had a lot more friends than he previously thought.

“Sora’s a master at making connections and growing his fanbase,” Axel admitted as if he could read the blonde’s thoughts, “Which is why this hiatus he’s on is such a big deal...”

He trailed off when he saw Roxas’s expression start to sicken.

“Anyway! I do wanna show you something in particular,” Axel quickly changed the subject and began to flip through an array of photos. They all had Riku in it, and all of them had Sora practically hanging on him in different ways.

Roxas looked at Axel with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m just saying... it’s not exactly a mystery how close those two are. Roomies don’t do that... unless they are really drunk and boundaries don’t matter anymore.” Axel digressed.

“Axel...,” Roxas started.

“JUST SAYING,” Axel repeated.

“Whatever. Show me yours now,” Roxas demanded and pointed to his phone, “Lemme see what you post.”

“Get yourself an Instagram,” Axel retorted.

“Don’t be an ass,” Roxas murmured, “I’ll tell you what. Give me a tour and I'll sit in your lap again.”

“Deal,” Axel quickly stated and moved to make room for the smaller man.

After a brief break to get another blunt, Roxas took his seat in between the man's legs, putting his back up against him once again. He tried to be nonchalant with it so it wasn’t such a big deal. That idea went out the window when Axel put his arms around him, holding the phone out in front of them both. He then rested his chin on Roxas’s head gently.

“Comfy?” Axel purred.

“Mh,” Roxas strained out.

“Good,” the redhead said, satisfied. He pulled up his profile and gave the phone to Roxas.

“Have at ‘er,” he encouraged.

Roxas was quick to scour ‘for_naught_axel’. He took note of the cheesy bio and the pleasing aesthetic layout of the account.

“You’re pretty good at this yourself... I think,” Roxas complimented.

“Well thank you!” Axel said giddily. He then pointed at an image of him shirtless on stage.

“Like this one?” he teased.

Roxas responded by continuing to scroll.

He saw a lot of pictures of him and the band. Or pictures of just him. Sometimes it was just aesthetic photography or tour dates. A few pictures of him and rabid fans popped up, but overall it was the type of account you’d expect from the lead singer of a band. It was really nice... and Axel looked REALLY good. As always.

He came across a VERY suggestive image. He had his tongue out between his middle and forefinger, shades on, and he was probably completely naked but the image cut off before anything.

“Oops, I meant to delete that a while ago... I posted it before we got big,” Axel tried to explain with a slight laugh, “Not really the best image to have up on a professional account.”

“Wow. I’m sure your parents love to see images like this,” Roxas chuckled to himself.

Without warning, Axel suddenly tensed up. It was so quick and unexpected that Roxas himself jumped.

“Woah, you good?” the blonde asked and turned to look at him in confusion.

Axel was completely pale and his mouth was slightly parted in disbelief. He was looking back at Roxas as if he couldn’t believe what the smaller man was saying.

“...w-what did I do?” Roxas asked genuinely, more discomfort and stress rising in his chest.

Something dawned on Axel, and this was apparent by his eyes. He took a moment to recover, then he whispered dryly, “Oh my god... you don’t actually know, do you?”

“K-know what?” Roxas questioned. He was starting to actually feel the panic rising in him by the sudden shift of atmosphere.

“Um...,” Axel started, then his hand awkwardly found his hair. He didn’t continue, rather looked away with a stormy expression.

“What did I do...,” Roxas asked weakly.

“Nothing, nothing!” Axel responded quickly, “I’m just kinda shocked.”

“Why?” The blonde’s tone was reflecting on how he was feeling internally.

“Roxas... I haven’t been in contact with my parents since... fuck it was the end of middle school,” Axel explained.

Roxas stilled, trying to process what he just said.

“I mean... have you ever seen my parents. Hell, have you ever heard me or anyone ever TALK about them?” Axel questioned further.

Roxas shrunk in on himself instinctively.

“I-I... I genuinely didn’t know,” Roxas admitted apologetically.

“It’s fine. As I said, I’m just shocked. More so that you still don’t know after all these years than anything else,” Axel promised. He then gently hugged Roxas a little tighter as a form of reassurance, “I guess I got a little jarred by the sudden reminder.”

Roxas stayed quiet. He honestly felt bad. But he felt worse for being curious.

“So you didn’t know I lived with Demyx all throughout high school?” Axel asked.

“No idea,” Roxas admitted with a weak chuckle.

“Why did you think I came into high school a year late?” Axel questioned further.

Roxas had totally forgotten that was the case till just then. He definitely was a year older than Demyx, yet they had been in the same class. He then remembered having this conversation in brief at band practice all those years ago.

“I don’t know... I never gave it much thought I guess. I thought we all talked about our family lives... but I guess you didn’t,” Roxas realized, “I never noticed.”

“Well, you and Sora always had a lot of family stories to tell back then. It was kinda easy to just, not say anything,” Axel laughed, “Not gonna lie, I was kinda jealous. Your family problems seemed like fun.”

“I’m sorry,” Roxas apologized quietly.

“But you don’t even know what you are apologizing for,” Axel spoke softly, then once again reassuringly gave him a squeeze, “You don’t need to apologize. I’m really happy that you and Sora have each other. And your little sister couldn’t be luckier with the brothers she has, even if she doesn’t take advantage of it. And your parents... they’re lucky too.”

Roxas quietly soaked in Axel’s words. He knew that even though Axel was holding on to some dark things, judging by the center of the conversation, he was still trying to make Roxas feel better. Underneath this rockstar persona he created, he was just a nice, genuine guy. Albeit a little crazy and stupid.

The blonde shifted in Axel’s arms, turning so he was on his side. Axel didn’t say anything, just adjusted himself accordingly to compensate for the change. He seemed to have recovered completely at this point and was staring down warmly at Roxas’s head on his chest.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Roxas asked quietly.

“Yeah, no problem. But... I hope you don’t mind if I don’t go too ‘into it’. I’ve done a good job distancing myself from those times. I don’t wanna resurface anything,” Axel explained.

“Of course, of course! Take your time. And don’t feel obligated to say anything, seriously,” Roxas expressed adamantly.

“That's the brother in you,” Axel mused softly, “I really don’t mean to keep bringing up sad shit in my past when we are together, you know? I guess I just feel like I can tell you anything, despite how little we actually know about each other.”

The bassist felt his face heat up, but he wasn’t quite sure if it was from the pure confession, or from shame due to the lingering feeling that he didn’t quite reciprocate that sentiment.

“So I think this all stemmed from my dad's alcoholism. He got into a bad car accident way back, fucked up his brain a little bit, and ma said he’s never been the same since. He turned to booze as a coping mechanism and it just spiraled out of control. You know how it is,” Axel began to give a little background.

“Yeah... kinda. I mean, Hayner’s mom abused wine big time during high school,” Roxas tried to relate, but he only earned a light laugh from Axel.

“Ehh, sorta,” Axel admitted dryly.

Roxas shrugged apologetically.

“My dad was... Well first of all he is a lawyer with high expectations. So you can guess how he reacted when his boy wanted to run off to be a rockstar,” the redhead stared off into space as he spoke. Roxas could easily tell that the man was dissociating big time.

“Not good?” Roxas offered gently.

“Very not good. He started to get really violent. He got me with the belt once, and once he got away with it, he never turned back,” Axel’s expression darkened and he scoffed, “My ma was so concerned about herself that she never confronted him. She’d just stand and watch.”

“This was during middle school?” Roxas muttered in disbelief, his stomach turning at the thought.

“Yeah, all throughout,” Axel admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” the blonde practically pleaded as he turned to face the man holding him more properly.

Axel’s jaw set, and he locked up for a moment.

“M-mind if I smoke that blunt?” Axel gestured to the one Roxas had forgotten he was holding, unlit.

“O-oh yeah, for sure,” Roxas said and quickly handed it to him, “Want me to get off you?”

“Hell no. You’re helping a ton,” Axel expressed and gave Roxas an over-exaggerated, tight squeeze, which coaxed a squeak out of him. The redhead then fished out his lighter, lit the blunt, and started going to town on it.

“I’m really sorry for bringing this up...,” Roxas reiterated, spurred on by his companion’s envigored, shaky actions.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Seriously, if you get upset it will make this one hundred times worse,” Axel explained, “Now to answer your question, I did tell someone. Demyx. Demyx was the only one who knew for the longest time. And the reason why? When my dad found out I told him, he made sure I’d never tell anyone again, I guess. I was scared, and Demyx was scared for me too so he didn’t say shit either. And ma would tell me every day before school to keep my trap shut.”

“Was she kind of... guilt-tripping you?” Roxas asked.

“Big time. She would always say that if I said anything nasty about my dad, it would ruin all of our lives. And that that would all be my fault. And for a really long time, I thought that too,” the redhead divulged. 

“That’s fucking horrible... And even though it sounds like you played along... it just kept happening?” Roxas questioned further.

“It’s because I kept playing guitar and singing. I stopped seeing Demyx out of school and I kept quiet about my dad’s abuse, but I couldn’t give up music. And since that went against dad’s lawyer plans for me, he kept the beatings coming. Called me a fag a lot. And I think that’s why I was so fucking scared to start dating because I just couldn’t possibly be gay. Flirting with girls was fun and easy, but it just wasn’t right, you know?” Axel continued to speak whatever came to his mind.

Roxas realized that this was how he was coping with the memories.

“So you flirted with the cheerleaders while looking at the football players from afar?” Roxas tried to joke.

“More like I flirted with the cheerleaders while deliberately ignoring I wasn’t feeling anything towards them. It was like a tactic to get rid of any suspicion that I was this ‘fag’ my dad thought I was. Low and behold,” Axel began to chuckle.

Roxas started to chuckle along, trying to ease the mood.

“So the upside to this story is that the whole time Demyx was silently working to get me out of there. When everything was ready, his family got the social services involved. Custody of me was passed to his parents until I turned eighteen. Dad got busted big time. Of course, that's the ad-libbed version. The year I skipped out on school was during that time. I needed time for legal processes and recovery,” Axel wrapped up.

“Demyx really did that for you?” Roxas asked genuinely.

“Yeah. That guy means more to me than anyone else,” the redhead admitted with a shake of his head, “He pretty much saved my life. I was close to giving up at that point.”

Roxas gave him a soft, thankful smile.

“I’m so glad for that,” Roxas said genuinely. His voice choked up due to him starting to feel a little emotional at the whole thing. The telltale burn of tears was coming to his eyes. 

He really had no idea the guy he was crushing on from afar this whole time had been through all of that torture by that point. He really had zero clue.

Axel looked down at him with a slight smirk. He reached up and ran a thumb under one of Roxas’s eyes, to which the blonde wrestled away with a weak chuckle.

“You’re crying over me~” Axel teased.

“Anyone would, man. You’ve genuinely been through hell already. It’s not fair,” Roxas protested while rubbing an arm across his eyes, “What about your mom? What happened to her.”

“Restraining order. She kept wanting me to testify for my dad in court. Bitch kept going on about how we could get our lives back,” Axel clicked his tongue.

“Wow, what a fucking bat,” Roxas mused in utter disbelief.

Suddenly, Roxas’s phone began to buzz wildly within his pocket.

“Oooh~, fuck feels nice,” Axel joked, “Is it Sora?”

The blonde turned to put his back against Axel again. He then pulled his phone out of his pocket. Sure shit, it was a Facetime call from Sora.

“I almost forgot that this whole mess was going on. But I kinda feel like it’s nothing after your bombshell,” Roxas admitted.

“Then let's answer it,” Axel chuckled, then swiped to answer the call for him.

“W-wai-,” Roxas started.

Sora’s face appeared on the screen a moment later. His cheeks were splotchy, but he was putting on a smile.

“H-hey Roxas..,” Sora started with a wipe of his eyes. He then seemed to notice the redhead directly behind his brother, “Oh shit is that Axel?”

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” Axel called out, giving the little image of Sora a wave.

Sora immediately pouted, “Aw fuck, Roxas has been complaining to you about me hasn’t he?”

“Not at all. He’s actually fucking wracked with worry over this,” Axel explained than pinched both of Roxas’s cheeks, to which the blonde simply ignored.

“I thought I told you not to call me while I'm at work Sora,” Roxas interjected.

“I just got off the phone with Kairi, I thought you would want to know...,” Sora murmured back shyly.

“Oh. How’d it go?” Roxas asked genuinely. Axel also leaned in to listen for his answer.

“We’re fine now. She said she’s ‘gonna get over it’ and doesn’t want to stop hanging out with either of us because of this. She’s happy with whatever I want to do. I mean, I could tell she’s not exactly happy with this, but we were back to laughing and talking normally. She even gave me some advice about how to get over how clueless I seem to be,” Sora forced a laugh.

“Hey, that's a good first step,” Axel shrugged.

“But the mood between Riku and I is still... really weird. Roxas won’t tell me what to do either,” Sora whined and went back to pouting. 

“I’ll tell you what to do. Go fucking talk to him, doofus,” Axel laughed and rested his head on Roxas’s shoulder, “Riku has a hard time getting his feelings out properly, so you gotta talk shit out.”

“But what do I say!” Sora pleaded for an answer.

“Here we go again...,” Roxas sighed and slumped back against Axel.

“Figure it out,” the redhead said plainly, turning his head slightly to look at the bassist who was getting comfortable on him.

“That's literally the worst advice ever. Can you two potheads stop snuggling and like, actually just give me anything to work with!” Sora whined as he inched his face closer to the camera.

“Aye, don’t be jealous. You could easily enough be doing this too,” Axel hummed as he lazily moved his hand up Roxas’s side, reveling as the blonde shifted due to the touch.

“Not on camera dipshit!” Roxas hissed and elbowed Axel slightly.

“Not on camera? Oh fuck Sora, looks like we are out of time,” Axel said while faking being upset. He started to reach to turn the phone off.

“Wait, come on!” Sora hurriedly added.

“Just go talk to him, babes. You’ll be fine. Right Roxy?~” the guitarist asked as he turned to the fidgety man in his arms. 

“Yeah, Sora. Just go talk to him okay? Bye bye~” Roxas waved a hand, then reached and snagged the rest of Axel’s blunt with the same hand.

“...fine,” Sora pouted, giving both of them the side-eye, “If I call back suddenly, you better pick up and not be fucking.”

“Okay, bye-bye,” Roxas repeated again, blunt between his lips. He then swiped to hang up without letting his brother get another word in.

“Someone seems to be a little, may I say, eager?” Axel murmured.

Roxas finished off the blunt with a strong pull, then did a quick one-eighty in Axel’s arms. He motioned the redhead closer to him with a few quick waves. He was visibly still holding his breath.

Confused, Axel leaned in slightly.

Roxas suddenly smashed his lips against Axel’s, catching the other man by surprise.

After a moment, Axel realized what was going on, and he parted his lips to take the hit from Roxas’s mouth, his eyes becoming half-lidded in the process. 

Once the hit was successfully transferred, Roxas pulled away but lingered mere inches away from Axel’s face.

The redhead pulled the hit into his lungs, then gently blew what was left at Roxas’s face, causing his golden locks to flutter gently with the breeze.

They then hung there for a moment.

“Where did THAT come from?” Axel breathed out exasperatedly.

“That was payback for yesterday,” Roxas hummed, “And that’s all you’re gonna get.”

Axel’s face eased into slight annoyance, to which Roxas returned with a cocky grin.

The blonde didn’t get a moment to breathe before Axel reached and grabbed him under his ass. He then suddenly pulled Roxas closer so their hips didn’t have any other option than to come together.

“A-axel!” Roxas yelped out in surprise, but it quickly tapered off into a whine as Axel continued to grind their hips together.

“You’re really gonna tease me two days in a row and think you’re gonna get away with it? Fuck no,” Axel growled huskily.

“W-wait I don’t wanna go too far, seriously,” Roxas whimpered, bracing his hands against Axel's chest.

“Yeah yeah, I get it. You still won't go out with me, and you’re a good boy, so you don’t wanna fuck around with me either way. But at least give me something babe, come on,” Axel pleaded as he nestled his forehead into the crook of Roxas’s shoulder. He continued to work their hips together.

Roxas let out a soft moan, his eyes drifting to the side to look at the mass of red hair next to him. He could pick up Axel’s slightly labored breathing as he strived after more and more friction. 

“W-wait. Hold on one second,” Roxas breathed out quickly, pushing Axel back slightly.

“What?” Axel’s voice practically dropped into a strained whine.

“... I gotta go back to work after this. We should...,” Roxas started while reaching for the button of Axel’s straining jeans, “At least get the clothing out of the way...”

“I like your thinking~” Axel purred into his ear, happily letting Roxas begin to wrestle his growing erection out of his pants, “You’re doing a really bad job faking that you don’t want this.”

“I’m drawing the line at this. This is going to be the end of it,” Roxas sort of chanted the mantra as if to convince himself.

“Whatever makes you feel better for the meantime,” Axel gripped Roxas’s ass slightly just to watch the blonde’s reaction. 

Roxas’s heart was hammering in his chest. He was nervous, sure. But at the moment, he was honestly more fueled by lust. It had been a while since he had the chance to mess around, and one of the hottest guys he ever met was practically begging him to go all the way. 

But for as much as his resolve to stay away from the persistent, cocky asshole he was straddling was dissolving, he still hung on to a shred of clarity. He knew he could draw the line at any time.

Finally, Roxas was able to free Axel’s cock. This earned him a relieved groan from Axel as he relaxed back against the wall. He didn’t realize he was staring until said man tore him from his daze.

“Been a while?” Axel questioned.

“Oh yeah...,” Roxas breathed without thinking.

Axel burst out laughing at the pure sincerity of it all, his shoulders shaking due to the force of the laughter.

“Fuck you,” Roxas grumbled. He then realized he literally had the guy’s whole world in the palm of his hand, so he lightly gripped Axel’s cock and gave it a few stiff pumps.

Axel lurched and his laughs quickly died into whines. He wheezed out, “that’s playing dirty, Roxy~.”

Roxas just scoffed in return. In all sincerity, he was nervous as hell and heating up fast.

Roxas gently worked Axel’s cock, using the precum that dripped from his tip to help with the absence of lubricant. He used his other hand and hips as a brace to quell the fact that Axel would reflexively buck into his grip.

“Fuck... that feels pretty good,” Axel hummed encouragingly. His hands continued to grope the smaller man’s ass, causing Roxas to get more and more bothered.

Axel was watching Roxas’s expression, and he seemed to get the picture.

“Let’s make this even better, aye?” Axel suggested as he removed his hands from Roxas’s ass. He then reached for Roxas’s pants and undid the button and zipper with relative ease. 

Without much thought, Roxas helped Axel wiggle himself out of his pants enough for his cock to spring free. 

The redhead looked him over with a sly grin before tugging him forward lightly.

“Move your hand,” Axel instructed softly, motioning him to move it.

“O-ok,” Roxas stammered out, having a hard time tearing his eyes away from their cocks to meet Axel’s gaze.

Axel replaced Roxas’s hand with his own, but he was able to grip both of their dicks together due to his long fingers. He didn’t waste time and quickly got to stroking them in tandem, supporting Roxas when he fell forward due to the sudden feeling.

“F-fuck,” Roxas moaned out, immediately feeling breathless as Axel worked them.

“That feel good, babe?” Axel cooed before gently placing a kiss on the exposed portion of the blonde’s collarbone.

Roxas just snapped his hips in response. His mind was racing, and something deep within him was screaming for more friction.

They continued to press up against each other, steadily increasing their vigor as their desire increased. Their moans and grunts melded together, and Axel peppered the blonde with light kisses and encouragement, causing him to intern buck his hips occasionally into Axel’s hand.

“I-I’m getting close, Axel. We gotta stop...,” Roxas whined out, pressing his forehead into Axel’s neck as the redhead continued to work them.

“What? Don’t wanna cum for me, baby?” Axel growled into his ear, showing no signs of stopping.

“It’ll make a mess,” Roxas whimpered while continuing to subconsciously grind. 

“I’ll use my shirt, don’t worry. Just relax for once and let me make you feel good,” Axel purred and licked the shell of the blonde’s ear and watched as his resolve unraveled.

“Axel...,” Roxas whined, “Fuck Axel, I’m cumming fuck~” 

The blonde's body was wracked with an intense amount of pleasure as he speedily teetered off the edge of ecstasy.

Axel quickly and very purposely used his other hand to hold Roxas’s face so he could watch his expression as he met his climax, soaking in the expression and the way his body trembled on top of him.

Roxas bit off a throaty series of pants as he released over the guitarists still pumping hand. He wasn’t given a chance to recover and constant waves of pleasure shot through him as Axel continued to stroke them both.

“A-axel~ please,” Roxas begged, the shocks running through his body quickly becoming too intense.

“Hold on a little bit longer baby. Fuck, I’m cumming too,” Axel growled huskily into the whimpering man's ear once he had collapsed against him once again. 

Not long after, Axel shivered and groaned as he met his own finish, his semen, too, spilling over his hand. He had tried his best to angle any stray shots away from Roxas, vaguely knowing the blonde would get mad about it after the fact.

Once his body tremors died down, he slumped back against the wall with a dull thud, letting out a few labored breaths.

Seeing as Roxas had already collapsed against him, he fell along with him, negating any attempt of keeping himself clean.

After a few moments of reveling in the afterglow, Roxas grumbled out gloomily.

“It’s fucking sticky.”

“Yeah well, you kinda laid on me. I tried to stop it,” Axel said nonchalantly, “don’t worry about it, walking around without a shirt on is normal for me.”

“Yeah, but not for me,” the blonde continued.

“God, you twins are a fucking handful,” Axel retorted, though his tone only spoke endearment.

“Same could be said to you, persistent fucker,” Roxas let out a light laugh.

Axel wiped the sweat from his brow and then removed his shirt. He then shyly began to tug at Roxas’s shirt.

“Can we... cuddle for like, ten minutes maybe?” Axel asked sweetly.

Roxas took a moment.

He then tugged his own shirt off and pressed himself back against the taller man’s heated chest.

“Yeah. Just ten minutes though. Then I don’t want to see you bothering me for the rest of the day,” Roxas laid out with a sense of fake sternness.

Axel just chuckled, knowing better than to believe the blonde’s feigns at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to the end of another chapter!
> 
> Sorry for the little break again, the election kinda stressed me out.  
> But I'm gonna try my hardest to finish this off, so stick with me.  
> Hopefully, this chapter finally made up for the many chapters of cockteasing.
> 
> And also, a big thank you!  
> This story has passed 300 hits for some reason!  
> You lil gremlins are why I can't give up.
> 
> Look forward to the next chapter !  
> -JuiceCSushi


	9. Thursday: Oh Thursday, You Can Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel saves Roxas's life... but they both forget about it a third of the way into the chapter :/

Roxas couldn’t believe himself.

The blonde stood on stage right in an absentminded daze, watching the back row of the theater’s seats without looking at anything in particular. 

Yesterday he had held it together pretty well after what Axel and he had done. He finished off the workday strong, even though he’d still have a ton of work to do the next day; the day before the dress rehearsal. The fact he went way WAY too far with the redhead didn’t phase him until he got home and let it really sink in. 

Roxas thought he had been doing a great job letting Axel know he wasn’t falling for him, but in actuality, he was giving the rockstar more reasons to keep pushing it. And now they were two days to the concert and they had jacked off together. 

The blonde’s stomach churned.

Axel was truly making the week unforgettable, and not even in a bad way. Spending time with him was actually enjoyable, even more so than it was in the past. No matter how much it made Roxas’s anxiety spike, he had to admit that the two of them had uncanny chemistry, to the point that the world and all of its troubles just melted away into white noise. 

But with that brought a sickening sense of deja vu. 

It wasn’t a feeling Roxas was unfamiliar with. Frankly, this whole week was like reliving a memory. Except it was going twice as fast and littered with chassis-ruining potholes. And the breaks were removed. So no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t stop.

Roxas blinked lazily. He faintly heard voices yelling around him but nothing was registering. 

Honestly, the damage was already done. To think that he wasn’t going to miss Axel once he left was foolish. The best he could do was continue to avoid him as much as he could and to hold him at arm's length when he did eventually come around to pester him again. He had to soften the blow somehow. He didn’t think he could handle it otherwise.

Above him, Roxas picked up a weird, faint squeaking noise.

...

The blonde didn’t realize what happened until he was on his ass starting at the shattered light in front of him.

He had felt a strong, crushing grip around his wrist and then a sudden, painful jerk backward. He didn’t get a chance to prepare, so naturally, the force made him fly back on to his ass. At the same time he collided with the floor, a stage light from above came crashing down where he used to be standing.

The next thing he knew, he heard Marluxia call ‘good heavens!’ from way across the theater.

Roxas realized he had stopped breathing. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and hollowly looked to his side.

Axel was standing next to him, panting heavily. His eyes were wide and wild. He was also staring at the light with the same sense of disbelief.

“D-did you just pull me out of the way?” Roxas wheezed out, his voice suddenly hoarse.

The redhead turned to look down at Roxas extremely slowly. He studied Roxas, it almost looking like he was trying to make sure he was there. Probably realized he could have just smashed his skull.

“I... I must have not secured the light well enough. That’ll come out of my paycheck,” Roxas’s croaked out a laugh, though it wasn’t fooling anyone.

Axel was still looking him over, up and down. He looked terrified, worried, and shocked all the same. Yet, he continued to study Roxas like he needed to commit him to memory or the world was going to end.

“I’m okay Axel, I just need to get feeling back in my limbs,” Roxas promised genuinely, “I fucking owe you though, Jesus Christ.”

Axel closed the small gap between them and reached down. He grabbed Roxas’s wrist once again and yanked him to his feet, whether he wanted to or not.

The blonde looked around, feeling the eyes of the whole crew on Axel and him. The entire theater was eerily quiet for how raucous it had been for the past week. Everyone was most likely in shock.

“You can let my wrist go now...,” Roxas murmured to Axel, wanting to quickly dispel the mood that had set over the staff and crew. 

He was fine. They had spare lights. He could buy a replacement. It was all going to be okay.

Axel started to walk, grip still present and vice-like on Roxas’s wrist. Roxas weakly tried to wrestle free, but it was very obvious that he was going to be following Axel wherever he was taking him.

The blonde’s cheeks heated up, knowing full well that all eyes were on them right now. Especially since Axel was dragging him like a disobedient child off the stage. 

“Axel, let go I gotta fix this,” Roxas hissed quietly to him as he stumbled after the taller man.

He didn’t respond nor stop.

Soon, the two of them were walking through the hallway. Roxas was still putting up a decent attempt to get himself free, his anxiety rising with every step of Axel’s boots on the floor tiles.

“Let go of my wrist, it fucking hurts!” Roxas finally shouted out, the stress warping the intent behind the word to sound more angered than he was.

Finally, the guitarist did let go. But before Roxas could thank him, he pushed Roxas against the wall.

The blonde felt a dull pain shoot up his back as it collided with the wall. He opened his mouth to protest but snapped his mouth shut when Axel lightly pressed his hands on either side of Roxas’s head.

Again, Axel stared at him. But this time, he looked directly in Roxas’s deep, blue orbs.

And Roxas had no other choice but to look back into the wild, green eyes before him.

“What’s your deal...?” Roxas finally whispered.

“What’s my deal? WHAT’S MY DEAL?” Axel finally spoke, his tone elevated and his voice shaky, “You almost just got yourself fucking knocked out... at the least. That light would have caved your little head in. Yet no matter how much I yelled, you just stood there for no goddamn reason. What’s YOUR deal?” 

Roxas had no idea Axel had been trying to warn him. Under normal circumstances, he would have just apologized and thanked him again. Multiple times probably. But Axel’s sudden berating shot his anxiety through the roof, and he panicked.

“You didn’t have to save me if it was such a big deal,” the blonde grumbled, finally looking away from the taller man's intense gaze.

“B-big deal? Roxas you almost died! I’m just wondering why you just stood there!” Axel shouted again, then seethed, “look at me when we’re talking.”

Roxas felt his blood start to boil. He knew he shouldn’t be getting mad, but for some reason, he just couldn’t help it.

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Roxas said lowly, meeting Axel’s gaze once again but this time with a tad of loathing.

Axel grit his teeth and barked, “why are you being like this! I was fucking terrified. I thought I was going to... lose you.”

The redhead finally sighed and took a step back, moving one hand to his hip and the other to his hair.

“I literally thought I was just going to witness the guy that I love get his head smashed,” Axel admitted with a shake of his head.

Roxas felt his boiling blood run immediately cold. He hadn’t heard that right probably.

“That you love?” Roxas wheezed.

“Yeah,” Axel murmured and gave him a shy side-eye, “Sorry. I don’t think I can deny it anymore. It really wasn’t my intention but... oops.” He finished off with a weak shrug.

“That can’t be right,” Roxas stammered, refusing to believe what he heard.

“Well, it is. And you didn’t necessarily make it hard either. Every time you’d turn me down, you’d do something that’d suck me right back in. I mean you literally were gonna jerk me off yesterday without any inhibitions,” Axel explained as he stepped forward once again.

Roxas quickly put his hands up, signaling him not to come any closer.

“That doesn’t mean I love YOU,” the blonde muttered in disbelief.

Axel looked like he had just been dealt a heavy blow, but he swallowed the pain and advanced forward regardless.

“You don’t think I know that? That doesn’t make what I’M feeling any less real. And sure, keep denying me. But we both know YOU were the one who wanted what we did yesterday. I was playing nice, stifling every moment I wanted to push the envelope. But in actuality, YOU were the one pushing it,” Axel scoffed the last part with a shake of his head. He was once again right in front of Roxas, and he had pressed one of his palms to the wall above Roxas’s right ear.

“Back off Axel,” Roxas’s warned lowly. 

His heart was hammering and his cheeks were hot. Did he really do such a bad job trying to show he was uninterested? Was he actually interested? 

The blonde grit his teeth. There was no way. He KNEW better than to be swayed into another nightmare.

“I’m not going to back off. Not until you let me speak my part,” the redhead spoke unwaveringly. His piercing, green eyes danced with determination as they bored holes into Roxas’s. 

He obviously wasn’t moving.

“Fine,” Roxas groaned and brought his hands up to run them down the length of his face, “but make it quick.”

Again, Axel brushed the fact he was hurt aside. No matter how Roxas tried to push him away with harshness, the redhead just seemed to bite the bullet and push forward. 

“Every moment I got to spend with you this week has been a blast. And frankly Roxas, I think it’d be a waste to just give up on this. Haven’t you been having a good time too? You can’t tell me you haven’t.”

The blonde furrowed his brows and refused to respond.

Axel let out a ticked off click of his tongue. He proceeded to say, “Look. I get there’s something else going on here. There is something you haven’t told me that's making you hate me for some reason. And it’s fine that you don’t want to tell me. I get somethings are hard to talk about... believe me.”

Roxas felt the shame from yesterday rise in his tight chest once again. 

So Axel had noticed something was up with Roxas’s mixed signals. Yet still, he had told the blonde all of these personal things without much resistance. 

Roxas wondered how long the redhead had been aware of his unorthodox behavior. He wondered how much he really knew.

“But Roxas, don’t you think it’s unfair that you’re hating on me for a reason I don’t even know?” Axel asked with a softer tone, “can’t you just let me in a little so we can figure this out.”

Suddenly, the taller man’s rough hand was on Roxas’s cheek. He gently rubbed his thumb back and forth in a tender motion.

“I don’t wanna lose you now. Whatever you think I am, I can prove to you that I’m not. I’m hooked Roxy, and I need you to give me a shot... I need you,” Axel whispered with urgency.

The redhead had slowly closed the gap between them further to the point that he was mere inches from Roxas’s face. The blonde could feel the rockstars breath dancing on his own lips.

“Please Roxas. Just let me try...,” Axel murmured as he leaned in, aiming to close the last of the space between their lips.

Panic shot through Roxas's entire being, and without much thought at all, he brought his hands up and shoved Axel backward with a tremendous force.

Axel lurched from the blow to his chest and stumbled backward. He nearly lost his balance entirely but was able to stay upward. With eyes filled with confusion, shock, and hurt, Axel looked up from the ground to meet Roxas’s own rich, blue orbs.

They were weld with tears.

Roxas shaking arms slowly rose up to clutch himself protectively, and he braced his back against the wall. 

He couldn’t breathe. 

The world was spinning around him. 

Nothing but fear and anguish filled his mind as vivid memories flooded back of a man with dark hair and gold, mischievous eyes. 

“R-roxas, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to... I mean... I-I didn’t think that would-” Axel tried to stammer out an apology.

“Stop,” Roxas cut him off shortly, causing the older man’s jaw to slam shut.

“Never, EVER, touch me ever again. Don’t come near me. Don’t talk to me. Just finish this concert and get the fuck out of here,” the blonde spoke evenly, but his trembling carried over into his voice.

“Roxas you don’t mean that...,” Axel’s voice was soft and understanding. He didn’t dare approach him again though.

“I mean it,” Roxas said with cold certainty, “I know now that I was right. You and the rest of the self-centered, big-headed assholes always do this. You’ll eat someone up and then spit them out. You’ll make yourself their entire world then, poof, fucking disappear. And I’m just supposed to accept that again, right? Accept that it was a joke while you laugh behind my back about how gullible I am.”

“Roxy, what are you even saying?” Axel asked warily with a light, anxious laugh.

Again, Roxas was met with a strong memory. 

Dark lips curled into a snarky smile.

The space between two men closing.

Skin on cold skin.

A low, rough whisper in his ear.

‘Roxy~’

“DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!” Roxas roared out with clenched fists, the strain finally causing him to lose control.

For a moment, the faint echo of Roxas’s outburst was the only thing that could be heard in the empty hall as the two men stood in silence.

“I will NEVER love you. No matter what you do. I just... I can’t go through this again,” Roxas finally finished, his voice barely audible.

But Axel had heard it loud and clear.

Again, they stood in silence for what felt like ages.

“Okay,” Axel finally said, his tone back to complete normalcy.

And for some reason, that hurt Roxas most of all.

“...it’s gonna be okay Roxas. Whatever happened... you’ll get better, okay?” Axel promised, and out of instinct moved to take a step towards the stiffened man. But he caught himself and stayed put.

“Thank you for showing me around this week. Demyx and I had a lot of fun being back and seeing all of you kids again. And uh, thank you for all the work you’ve done for For Naught Baptiste. I know the show is gonna look great because of you,” Axel spoke, only letting his voice waver for a moment.

“Keep playing the bass. You’re amazing, and I still think you can go somewhere with that. But if not, hey, at least you’re smart and a hard worker. I wish I could say the same about myself. Once I outlive my legacy, I’m fucked,” Axel tried to laugh, but whatever came out couldn’t possibly pass as one, “And Roxas?”

Roxas didn’t respond, just looked on emptily.

“Keep smiling. You’ve got a great one,” Axel promised. His tone dripped with affection, but it was overshadowed by the mix of emotions the redhead was holding inside. They were slipping through the cracks, causing the heartfelt statement to sound more like a eulogy.

“I’ll... I’ll go now... Bye Roxas,” the guitarist gave Roxas one last, long look, before turning away with an expression that spelled nothing but regret and anger. But before Roxas could process that, the man had already started walking away down the hallway and back towards the stage.

Roxas hung there for a moment, feeling like his body was being suspended by some unknown force. But once the emotions unraveled and the tense instincts subsided, Roxas felt his knees weaken. 

With his back still pressed up against the wall, Roxas let himself slide down to the floor.

He took the first deep breath he had for a while, and as he exhaled, he felt wet tears begin to slide down his cheeks. And they just kept coming.

Roxas pulled his knees into his chest and rested his head on his arms, letting the tears come without any protest. 

As the tears refused to cease, the world slipped away into a vague concept.

Roxas couldn’t understand why his chest was throbbing so violently. He had gotten rid of the problem before it became a nightmare, but for some reason, he felt way worse than before. 

Axel’s array of painful expressions played through his mind like a morbid slideshow, yet, the rockstar had planted a seed of warmth within all of the despair. His parting message had given Roxas hope like he had never felt before.

But he had, ultimately, driven Axel away without so much as giving him an inkling of the underlying problem.

Roxas swallowed harshly as a sob tore through his lungs.

Roxas realized that, in the end, he had been the problem, not Axel. Trauma be damned, he never even gave Axel the opportunity to prove himself any different than...

Roxas clutched his head, cursing his weakness and stupidity. He had let two weeks ruin his life once. Now, he had destroyed his second chance in almost half the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title Reference - "It's Friday, Fall Apart" audio on Tiktok ("Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure)
> 
> \---
> 
> Welcome back everybody !
> 
> I hope at least one of you is crying because of this chapter  
> But don't worry, they still have two days left...  
> Only two days...
> 
> Anyway, thank you again, as always, for reading this chapter  
> We've surpassed 350 hits now, and I'm crying in my metaphorical soup  
> Please stick around for more within the next few days!  
> We're reaching the home stretch now...
> 
> Mega Love  
> \- JuiceCSushi


	10. Friday: Malfunction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the aforementioned day of our band's dress rehearsal. And that, in turn, means the concert is tomorrow.

Roxas rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked over the empty page open on his laptop. He was sitting cross-legged on an old, ratty loveseat in one of the back rooms, specifically, the one Olette took over as her ‘office’. He had an assignment due tonight, unbeknownst to him till a few hours ago. Regardless, he wouldn’t have really had the gall to get it done before. Frankly, he didn’t know if he had the gall yet.

“Making any progress?” Olette called over from her ‘desk’; a broken desk chair and an old table that had been built as a set-piece. She, too, was working on her laptop. Except she was making spreadsheets for the concert tomorrow.

“Oh yeah, lots...,” Roxas hummed out hollowly.

“Don’t feel pressured to give it your all, you know. You’ve got... a lot going on,” Olette murmured, deciding to keep it vague.

“Uh-huh,” Roxas affirmed with equal hollowness, typing out a simple ‘the’ on his keyboard.

“Are you going to be alright, Roxas? Seriously,” Olette asked with concern, looking away from her laptop to give Roxas her full attention.

To be honest, the blonde wasn’t really sure if he was alright.

After the whole debacle yesterday, he finished his workday without a hitch. He had completed everything he needed to do for the dress rehearsal, then left without so much as a word to anyone. 

He got back to his dorm, packed an overnight bag, and then headed to his brother's house. Hayner probably could tell something was up, but the guy knew Roxas well enough to understand that when Roxas was really upset, he’d choose what he wanted to do with himself. Roxas was very grateful for that unspoken pact between them.

But, when Roxas got to Sora and Riku’s house, he finally let himself break down.

Thankfully, it was Sora’s turn to play supportive brother, and he was at the point where he could.

While everything else was going on in Roxas’s world, Sora and Riku had finally taken the repeated advice they had gotten and sat down to talk EVERYTHING out. And bibbity bobbity boo, they decided to make things official and see where it went from there. And if things didn’t work out, at least they’d know going back to how things were was the best option.

Of course, Roxas had gotten this information after he was given ample time to dump all of his thoughts on to the new couple. He knew he was lucky that,   
A) Sora and Roxas could act like the same person sometimes, so both of them knew how to react in each other's shoes, and B) Riku had to deal with Sora on a daily basis, so he had plenty of experience with how to deal with the twins when they were going through something. In other words, no matter how much Riku pissed him off, he trusted him enough that he could cry in front of him, even if he felt stupid doing so.

After Roxas had calmed down enough, Sora offered his room to his brother to stay the night in. Sora and Riku slept in Riku’s bed that night, which probably was going to become a common occurrence anyway.

The blonde was grateful because, after the emotional outpour, he just wanted some alone time. And he wasn’t going to kick Hayner out of their room to do it. 

Now it was the next day, and he just felt... nothing. Just emptiness. He wasn’t sad anymore, but he could tell something still wasn’t quite right with him.

“Roxas?” Olette snapped the stagehand out of his trance, “do you need to lie down for a little bit, bud?”

“No, I’m fine. I just zoned out,” Roxas explained, “I’m doing alright, just trying to get my thoughts in order.”

“Alright, I’m trusting you. But you better tell me if you need anything,” Olette’s sweet gesture sounded more like a threat.

“Aye aye captain,” Roxas muttered with a light scoff, then started to type out his assignment.

As time passed, Olette seemed to get more and more restless. Understandably so, since the beginning of the dress rehearsal was meer minutes away. 

This was going to be everyone’s one chance to make sure tomorrow night was going to be as spectacular as it could be. Any changes that were going to need to be done were going to happen today or tomorrow right before the concert. It was honestly quite the shit show, but this was just how it was going to be with how tight the band’s schedule was.

The blonde swallowed a dry lump in his throat as he felt Olette’s eyes on him. He knew what his friend was going to say.

“Roxas... please come watch the dress rehearsal. You’d benefit from seeing what needs changes rather than just reading my notes. You understand some stuff better than I do,” Olette tried to plead, though they had had this conversation a few times already that day.

“I don’t know,” Roxas groaned and rubbed his face. 

He knew Olette was right, but the idea of watching For Naught Baptiste perform just caused a tightness in his chest. Just like how he was trying to avoid Communications Room Alpha for basically the same reason. 

Olette seemed very conflicted, and rightfully so. She was battling between the stage manager part of her who needed the light technician there to witness the one chance they had at making alterations and the friend part of her who wanted to do what was best for Roxas’s psyche.

“I really need you to be there Roxas. Even if you just watch from the wings or something,” Olette explained as she rose to her feet and shut her laptop, “But, if you’re really not comfortable with watching, I’ll try and get you my notes as soon as possible.”

“I’ll go,” Roxas finally conceded.

“REALLY!” Olette practically shrieked out before bounding up and throwing her arms around Roxas’s neck.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Olette exclaimed as she rocked her friend back and forth over and over again, “You just made my job exponentially easier, holy fuck! I was so worried!”

Roxas laughed weakly as a response, but he could already feel his stomach starting to turn as nerves set in. Regardless, he wasn’t going to give Olette one more thing to worry about. And he didn’t want to be a block in her success.

“I’m going to sit in the back though. If that’s okay,” the blonde disclosed as he shut his own computer.

“Of course, whatever makes you most comfortable,” Olette expressed adamantly, “I’ll still probably take some notes so we can make sure between the two of us that we don’t miss anything.”

“Gotcha,” Roxas affirmed, “Hopefully I can pay attention.”

“I know you can,” the stage manager spoke confidently, “I’m going to head out now, okay? Take your time, but we will be starting in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Roxas was aware, and he nodded his head while stating, “I’ll be there.”

Olette gave her friend one last, tight squeeze before giving him a little wave and speedily exiting her ‘office’.

Roxas shook his head, always impressed by her energy and vigor. He wished he could be as ‘in the game’ as she was at this moment, but all he could feel was doubt, worry, regret and other negative nerves coursing through his veins. Regardless, he had to swallow those feelings and make his way to the auditorium. This concert meant so much to a lot of people, and there wasn’t time for him to be self-centered.

Roxas hovered in the doorway of the auditorium, pulling the hood of his hoodie up farther over his head. He could hear mic tests going on, more specifically Demyx singing some back up lines for a piece Roxas had heard multiple times throughout the week. 

More prominently, he could hear Axel faintly talking to someone else on stage, then laughing, before continuing to talk and joke around. 

Classic Axel. So classic in fact, that it made Roxas’s heartthrob. 

The blonde sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. He pressed his palms on one of the double doors and gently pushed it open just enough where he could sneak in without causing much of a ripple.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice him enter the auditorium. 

The stage, frankly, looked pretty damn good. 

All of the extra equipment had been moved off stage, and now the only things that were left were the band's main equipment, some risers, and the members themselves.

Speaking of members, Axel was center stage. Right where he belonged.

He had his electric guitar hanging around his shoulder and he was struggling with the mic stand. Demyx was trying to help him get it set to the right height, but the one brain cell that was shared between them was undoubtedly making it even harder to accomplish. 

Finally, Olette jumped up on stage and got it situated within mere moments. The two men’s embarrassed ‘thank you’s’ rang out over the sound system.

Roxas let himself sink low into one of the back seats of the auditorium. He pulled the drawstrings on his hoodie in a faux attempt at trying to make himself more unseen. Thankfully, the lights on the stage seemed to make the auditorium dark in comparison. The performers were most likely oblivious to anyone sitting way back in the theater.

Speaking of lights, Roxas was feeling quite proud of how they were looking. Even in their most basic model, they really did the stage justice. He had quickly installed the replacement light, for the one that fell yesterday, this morning, and that completed the look. Bless Marluxia’s understanding, affluent heart for he wasn’t charging Roxas a penny for the damages. The man was just ‘glad he was okay’. And probably glad that no one was suing.

A guitar roared to life, and Roxas immediately snapped back to attention. The lights rolled through a few colors and moved into position to light up the band members in spectacular fashion. 

Immediately, Roxas’s mind went into technical mode. He could already pick out things he wanted to discuss with the person in charge of the lightboard. Of course, his job was only to follow the instructions on what to install, but he had picked up on a few creative things over his time working there. 

Axel began to give a passionate and invigorating welcome speech, but he was unmistakably making it more comical than it was going to be tomorrow, bringing up things that only the crew and bandmates would understand. He was hamming up the comedy so much so in fact, that Saix hissed out, ‘treat this seriously, man’, in Axel’s direction.

A small rumble of laughter traveled throughout the crew members in attendance in the auditorium. 

“Alright, alright,” Axel laughed lightly, “Let’s just get this show started, aye?” 

His fingers danced over his guitar in a fancy, little riff before he threw his head back in Saix’s direction and shouted, “Ready, dude?”

Saix nodded his head once, clicked his drumsticks together as a count off, and with that, the dress rehearsal commenced.

For Naught Baptiste was astounding, in its own weird way. There were clashing personalities, but also lots of beautiful chemistry. All of the instrumentals were a mix of genius and experimentation. Of course, you could tell that they weren’t the end all be all of alternative rock music, but the way they didn’t seem to care added to the whole presentation.

And Axel’s voice.

Honestly, just Axel in general.

He was the perfect lead. His energy was off the charts, and the way he made sure every member was forced to match his canter pretty much carried the band. Of course, Roxas might have been a little biased, since he was ogling Axel up like a kid in a candy store whether he wanted to or not.

As the band moved on to the next song in their set, the lights rolled into a new formation. But, Roxas was quick to pick up what he felt was either a malfunction of the lighting rig or a lightboard error. This was because a single light turned and lit up part of the auditorium in a way that was extremely blatant and out of place. 

This caused Roxas, along with a few of the other audience members, to become annoyingly illuminated.

The band continued to sing and play, as performers do, but this lighting flaw seemed gross enough that all the members noticed it as well.

Roxas watched as Axel’s eyes traveled up the length of the now visible seats before landing to rest on him.

Suddenly, the guitarist's fingers flubbed over his instrument, and his voice choked off as if the air had been stolen from his lungs.

The whole band snapped to look at Axel with surprise, and they ceased playing as well, this certain mistake seeming to be entirely out of character for the lead singer.

Axel continued to look at Roxas for what felt like eons, causing Roxas to sink lower and lower into his seat. Thankfully, Axel eventually seemed to shake himself out of his gaze and turned to apologize to the band.

“Shake it off man, let's take it from the top,” Demyx encouraged, and the other two band members mirrored the sentiment, though to a lesser degree.

Axel nodded slowly, but the fact he was a little rattled seemed apparent. To Roxas, at least.

The band started the song over and Axel was quick to get back into his normal groove. He was back to smiling, dancing, and having a good time. The only thing that seemed to be different was the obvious fact that he no longer looked out into the auditorium in Roxas’s general direction.

Maybe it wasn’t obvious to anyone else, but Roxas could tell. More so because every time he thought Axel was going to face in his direction, the man found a different part of the theater to stare off into.

The blonde felt a seed of disappointment grow in his chest. 

Now Axel was the one avoiding him. Whether or not it was a taste of Roxas’s own medicine or the fact that he was just too painful to acknowledge was unclear. Regardless, there was no doubt in Roxas’s mind that the redhead, truly, was avoiding him. 

Roxas felt his face set into a pout. It wasn’t worth denying that the blonde really wanted Axel to give him the same sort of attention that he had been giving him all week. The attention Roxas had blatantly tried, over and over again, to avoid himself. 

With that realized, Roxas just felt like a damned fool.

The band finished the set and took a very brief break for water and to exchange notes. 

For Naught Baptiste did a little huddle, and Axel was visibly over-apologetic for the blunder. Of course, he was reprimanded by both Saix and Xigbar, but they seemed understanding as well. 

The blonde could only imagine the shit Axel had probably been telling his bandmates about how terrible Roxas was.

But Roxas immediately retracted that sentiment in his head.

Axel wasn’t petty like that. He probably spun the shit Roxas had put him through in a way that made Roxas look like the victim in all this. He was just... nice like that.

He was probably way more grown-up than Roxas was as well, seeing as this wasn’t the worst of the shit that's been done to him over the course of his young life

Again, Roxas felt sickened at his own behavior. He wondered if he would get the chance, with the short time they had, to genuinely apologize to Axel for pretty much this entire week.

While Roxas was still in thought, the band began to play again, this time, a slower, softer song that Roxas had never heard before.

“Now... we just decided we wanted to add this piece after the intermission. We haven’t... really practiced it much. But I think it fits. I want you to listen closely,” Axel spoke in a softer tone over the mic, his fingers gently plucking at his guitar supplementally.

Roxas found this last statement rather weird, but he assumed that it was just a tactic to be more personal with the audience. With that in mind, the blonde looked back up at the lead singer and felt his heart stop.

Axel was staring back at him. Unwaveringly.

The redhead began to sing in a way that was uncharacteristic for his band but worked beautifully for Axel’s voice. His words warped with feeling and emotion, unlike any song he had sung yet. It was no doubt a general love song, but something felt different.

It was in the way he moved. The way every word hung with true, raw emotion, whether it was melancholy or hopeful.  
The fact that he never looked away from Roxas.

Unmistakably, Axel was singing this song to him directly. 

This song was for him.

Roxas felt the corners of his eyes begin to tingle with the burn of tears, but none came.

The world fell away as the two zoned into each other. As Axel swayed, Roxas felt himself move in time subconsciously. Axel would sing a line as more of a laugh, and Roxas could feel his lips tug up into a smile. Whenever it got sensual, Axel got a particular look in his eyes that caused Roxas’s face to heat up. 

But, just as the song seemingly had begun, it came to a solemn and haunting end.

The world came back into focus, and Roxas was faced with the fact that the moment they had just shared across the theater was over.

With that, For Naught Baptiste went on with the rest of their set and the second half of the show as if nothing had happened, leaving Roxas dazed and distracted from that moment on.

The dress rehearsal came to a close and not a moment was wasted by any of the crew. Olette was quick to get to her feet at the head of the auditorium and seek out people she needed to talk to. Everyone else simply got to their feet and exited the auditorium, off to complete their respective jobs. The urgency was definitely the common theme amongst everyone.

Roxas also got to his feet, but the urgency he was feeling was most likely not spurred on by the same reasons that everyone else was. 

Roxas removed his hood as he made his way down the auditorium aisle towards the stage. There, For Naught Baptiste and Xigbar were in the midst of a triumphant conversation. 

The blonde faintly heard Xigbar say, ‘you all sounded phenomenal guys, seriously’ as he hopped up onto the stage. Roxas then made his way towards the side of the stage and waited there with his hands in his hoodie pockets. 

The band and their manager talked for a while longer until Demyx seemed to notice Roxas was there.

The guitarist looked between Roxas and Axel a few times before gently nudging his bandmate’s arm and nodding in Roxas’s direction.

Axel turned around and met Roxas’s eyes again. The redhead’s smile pulled tight and wavered, but he turned to his bandmates and quietly excused himself. Then, he made his way towards Roxas.

With every step the man got closer, the more Roxas realized he didn’t know what he was going to say to Axel. He had immediately known they needed to talk, but what was he going to say?

“Hey,” Axel murmured as he stopped in front of Roxas. He kept a respectful distance between them, “How’d you like the show?”

Roxas opened his mouth but nothing came out. He cleared his throat once before trying again.

“It was fantastic. Tomorrow night is going to be a night to remember for a lot of people, I bet,” Roxas laughed airly.

“Yeah,” Axel laughed slightly as well.

The two fell into an awkward silence after that that lasted for quite some time.

“Sorry, I know I was going to leave you alone,” Axel muttered, “It just kinda looked like you... wanted to talk. Or something.”

The redhead trailed off.

“I was going to ask about that song after the first set, actually,” Roxas brought up with a passing glance.

“Oh yeah... uh, did you like it? It’s one I wrote a few years ago. I think it's kinda cringey,” Axel rambled, uncharacteristically avoiding Roxas’s eyes out of embarrassment.

“That was my favorite part,” Roxas murmured genuinely.

Axel turned to look at Roxas and met his eyes once again, and Roxas looked back, feeling his cheeks heat up in the process.

“You mean it?” Axel questioned softly.

“Yeah,” Roxas breathed out in return.

He then sucked in a deep breath, and before he could let his nerves stop him, he took a step towards Axel.

“I-I’m sorry Axel. I didn’t mean those terrible things I said yesterday. This week has been...crazy. Horrible, in fact. But spending time with you has made it manageable. I don’t want you to think I hate you. I don’t want you to avoid me. I want to spend the time we have left-”

“It’s okay, Roxas,” Axel cut him off when he noticed the smaller man’s shoulders begin to tremble.

He gave Roxas a tender smile, but even if his body language was hinting at him wanting to get closer, wanting to comfort Roxas, he didn’t come any nearer.

“I’m glad you didn’t mean it. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t really sleep well... or at all, last night,” Axel laughed dryly and ran his hand through his hair.

“Yeah... me either. But at least I had my brother around,” Roxas sighed, feeling shame rise in him for causing Axel all of these issues so close to the concert.

“Sora? So his problems are going better?” Axel asked, shifting the conversation.

“Yeah, actually. The two of them are actually dating now,” Roxas laughed, but it quickly became strained as he saw Axel’s face twist to a minor form of jealousy.

“Really? That's great for them. I hope it goes well,” the redhead congratulated while putting on a convincing smile.

Roxas nodded and looked to the floor.

“But... I really am sorry,” Roxas continued, “I want to make it up to you. There are some things I want to talk about with you.”

Axel’s fake smile softened once again, and this time, he put his hands on Roxas’s shoulders, getting the smaller man’s attention.

“I’d love to talk, but I can’t right now,” Axel explained evenly, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I can take any more messing around with my emotions. At least this close before the concert.”

Roxas heard Axel speak, understood what he said clearly, knew he was right, but he still found himself starting to tear up. He was acutely aware that the eyes of the band were on the two of them, but for some reason, that didn’t matter much to him right now.

The lead singer sighed softly and moved his hands from Roxas’s shoulders to his cheeks. He then gently wiped a thumb across Roxas’s cheek to break away a tear that had begun to drip down.

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. You’re definitely right,” Roxas sniffled, letting Axel hold on to his face.

“I know why,” Axel hummed confidently. He then leaned in and whispered, “You’re figuring out that you love me too.”

Roxas’s chest tightened. But for some reason, he couldn’t respond to deny it.

“I forgive you, Roxy, don’t worry,” Axel continued to speak quietly, hovering near Roxas, “But I need you to do the same thing I’m doing, and forget about ‘us’ for right now. Neither of us can afford to be distracted. Trust me, if I had it my way, we could just sneak off to your secret room. But you saw that thing with the light earlier, right? I’m guessing fixing that will fall on you.”

Roxas let a laugh slip out and nodded his head a few times, “Yeah, potentially.”

“Can I ask you a favor though?” Axel asked, getting back on topic.

“What’s that?” Roxas whispered back.

“I want you to think about what you want to happen tomorrow night, after the concert that is. I’m going to be leaving on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean I want to leave you,” the redhead spoke, making sure to keep Roxas looking him in the eyes, “You accused me of tossing you away, but quite the contrary, I want to try long distance. But I understand that that might not be your style, and I’m gonna try to convince you otherwise later.”

Roxas soaked in what Axel was saying, but Axel continued to talk.

“Just think about it, okay?. And tomorrow, after the concert, come to me and give me your answer. Whatever happens, happens. No hard feelings. And all things considered, I’ll probably still love you no matter what.”

Axel ended by removing his hands and giving Roxas a quick peck on the cheek, then roughly ruffling the blonde’s golden locks.

“Now stop crying. You’re a man, aren’t you?” Axel jokingly berated him.

“Hey, how about shutting the fuck up?” Roxas joked back, knocking Axel’s hand away.

Axel seemed satisfied with that.

“Alright babe, I gotta get back to the band. But I’ll see you around, okay?” Axel promised.

“Yeah. I’ll see you around,” Roxas agreed, wiping his eyes in the process.

“Perfect. I’ll text you later Roxy~” Axel chimed as he turned on his heel, walking back to his bandmates with a little bit more of a pep in his step.

Roxas watched him walk away, instinctively putting his hands on to his cheeks where Axel’s hands once were, still feeling the slight presence and warmth of his palms. 

For the first time all week, Roxas felt that, no matter what happens, everything was going to be okay. 

But, he had to take a page from Axel’s book and get serious. There was a lighting malfunction that needed troubleshooting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, everyone!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter  
> I'm running low on steam, but I will see this to the end
> 
> And we are almost there...
> 
> I want to give a special thanks to my beta reader and best friend, Jinx  
> They have been reading my shit ever since chapter 4 or 5  
> And I'm very glad they are there to catch my mistakes, as they have been for most of my life
> 
> I hope you are looking forward to the next chapter; the conclusion to our story!
> 
> See you soon,  
> \- JuiceCSushi


	11. Saturday: The Concert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is Saturday, which means that it is the big day of the concert! But, what's this? The entire concert is conveniently written out of the chapter centered around it! I wonder what lazy fuck did that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, before I begin the last chapter, I would like to issue a little apology.  
> This ending really is not my A-game, but after almost half a year of working on this, I finally just ran out of steam.  
> I was fairly certain how the story was going to go from the start, so I was quick to get sick of the story altogether.  
> Overall, I'm just no longer interested in writing this fic, but I wanted to make sure I at least give it an ending.  
> But, this isn't the end for me.  
> I hope to write some shorter, more experimental fanfics after this that will be of better quality.  
> And most likely not about Kingdom Hearts, sadly.  
> Again, I'm sorry for the lackluster chapter, but I appreciate you for reading!

Axel stared into the dressing room mirror with one eye, watching himself as he gently drew the eyeliner pen over his other eyelid. His hand was relatively steady, though he didn’t really care if it was perfect or not. 

Next to him, Olette stood with a clipboard in hand. She scanned over its contents as she talked.

“Does your mic-pack feel secure enough?” the stage manager asked, her having known that Axel had problems with it earlier.

“Yeah, don’t worry. We fuckin’ loaded it up with tape,” Axel laughed as he inspected his eyes in the mirror. Luckily, he didn’t look so dead to the world anymore.

“We better be able to get it off afterward,” Olette mumbled but didn’t press farther. She then scanned over her clipboard once again. She paused for a little while, then casually snuck in a request to Axel.

“By the way, please don’t be too hard on Roxas for what he’s said or how he’s been acting. He really doesn’t realize it when he starts to act goofy. He’s still hung up on that stuff from the past I guess. I’m sorry,” Olette rambled, trying to be nonchalant about it.

“Roxas and I made up, no worries,” Axel assured her simply.

“Oh. Really? Great,” Olette laughed lightly.

“But... if I may ask. What’s really up with him?” Axel questioned as he looked away from the mirror and to her.

Olette looked to Axel blankly.

“He really hasn’t told you yet?” Olette murmured, not sure if it was her place to say anything if that was true. Yet, she was also very surprised that Axel had gone this long without knowing.

“Nope,” Axel shrugged with equal simplicity.

“Alright, well no one ever said Roxas was a wise person. He IS one of the twins after all,” Olette wheezed out a pained laugh. She then continued.

“I’m gonna tell you the gist of it, but if you really care about him, you should probably sort out how you’re gonna deal with Roxas’s romantic outlook,” the stage manager didn’t sugar coat it, and she leaned against the wall next to the mirror.

“‘Romantic outlook?’” Axel questioned.

Olette gestured to Axel and stated, “He’s treated you like his ex because the way they met is VERY similar to how you two reunited.”

Axel furrowed his eyebrows.

“Explain,” the singer requested.

Olette sighed heavily, shaking her head at this whole pathetic conflict between these two.

“So, a while back a band came to Twilight Town Theater. Roxas and I were new at that point, but we still pretty much did exactly what we do now. But, in addition to being new, we were also young and dumb,” Olette began.

The redhead just nodded along, imagining a slightly less beefy, shorter Roxas with a dumb toolbelt and the same workboots, yet they were less scuffed.

“Roxas never had the gall to date, so when this band’s lead singer,” Olette paused, putting emphasis on those last two words, “started to flirt with him, and asked him out within a few days... having deja vu?”

Axel sank slightly and remarked, “I hate to admit it...”

“But here’s what happened years ago after that. This is why Roxas is acting like such a bitch around you,” Olette prefaced, then continued, “After spending two weeks glued to each other's hip, the lead singer and his band suddenly left without saying anything to Roxas. And we were never able to get a hold of them after that. Roxas was distraught, not only because his first boyfriend had up and left without a single word, but because we soon found out that Roxas had been stealing a lot of money from the theater, per the request of this band.”

Axel’s eyebrows shot up.

“That doesn’t sound like Roxas...,” Axel murmured.

“He did a lot of things that ‘don’t sound like Roxas’”, Olette continued, then awkwardly looked to the side and mumbled, “He also told me... a few other things he let the band do. To him.”

Axel’s expression turned sour and he felt his chest tighten with anger.

“Roxas got into a TON of trouble. His reputation was damaged enough after that, that it took him forever to be able to come back here to work. He also deeply felt betrayed and humiliated by how he essentially got played. It fucked him up big time... He needed to go to the hospital. He got put on meds. He started smoking. It just really changed his outlook on the music industry, relationships, trust...”

Olette’s explanation turned into a weak sigh as she seemed to think back to the time.

“So, me coming back was like reliving a bad memory?” Axel scoffed, shut his eyes, and rubbed his temples, “Damn it, Roxas, this is the shit you gotta tell me! But he couldn’t because he didn’t trust me. So I can’t really blame him... fuck.”

“Well, now that you know what’s up, fucking call him out for it. I’m positive he knows he can trust you. Because even if the situations are similar, that fuckhead acted TOTALLY different,” Olette blew up, seeming to be tired of this redundant situation by this point, “He was an emo, drug head asshole. You think you’re cool, but you’re really just stupid and charming.”

“Thanks... wait,” Axel realized what she said.

“ANYWAY!” Olette commanded his attention back to her and the true fact of the hour, “It’s time.”

Axel looked to the clock in the dressing room and reiterated, “So it is.”

He then turned back to Olette and spoke happily.

“Thank you for telling me this, Olette. You’re the best coworker and friend he could have,” Axel said truthfully, referring to Roxas.

Olette groaned and started to move away from the wall.

“Yeah yeah, I’m done with this dumb ‘romance miscommunication’ situation. It’s so fucking stupid. Boys are fucking stupid,” Olette grumbled to herself.

Axel just had to laugh because, in their situation, she was right.

“Anyway, all of this aside, I really want to wish you good luck. This is gonna be a great show,” Olette said genuinely, looking to Axel with an air of familiarity, “We all knew you were hot shit back in high school, so really show us you’re still all that.”

“You betcha,” Axel promised with a smirk.

Olette began to leave, and as she exited the dressing room, she added, “And thanks for getting Roxas back out of his comfort zone. You’re the best thing that could have happened to him right now. It’s time for him to have something good in his life.”

Axel couldn’t respond to her, since she left the room immediately after that.

But he felt immense gratification from that comment.

Filled with new determination and adrenaline, Axel did one last once-over of himself in the mirror and nodded up at his reflection. He, too, then exited the dressing room. 

He was going to head to meet up with Demyx for a pre-show pep talk, but he heard a familiar voice shriek in the hallway above him that was up the stairs out the door at the top.

...................

The blonde hung in the foyer, looking back and forth between his phone and the crowd making their way into the theater.

At long last, it was time for the concert.

Roxas had crossed his i’s and dotted his t’s multiple times earlier today, so he knew everything that he was in control of was perfect. It was all up to the performers and the active crewmembers to pull it off.

But the light technician wasn’t worried. Not a doubt crossed his mind when it came to 'For Naught Baptiste' or the Twilight Town Theater being prepared for tonight.

Roxas went back to staring at his phone, eyes scanning over the digits of the clock. It was thirty minutes too, and his friends should be arriving at any moment. They all had a special spot to watch, but Roxas had to at least escort them there. Particularly since it was usually closed off unless the turnout was projected to be larger.

Thankfully, Pence and Hayner’s forms popped in and out of the crowd soon after the clock turned over.

The blonde quickly stuffed his phone into his ass pocket and dodged and weaved through the flow of the crowd, popping out of the mass right next to his two friends.

“Hey! There’s the man of the hour,” Hayner quickly called out and grabbed his best friend roughly. He pulled Roxas into an arm clasp and a hug while laughing the whole time. Roxas never had a chance.

“What’s up man, how’s it going?” Roxas laughed, wiggling himself out of his buddy's hold, trying to avoid making too much of a scene in the decently fancy theater.

“Pretty fucking good,” Hayner laughed back, grabbing his best friend again, but this time around the shoulders.

“He was smoked up by the time I got to your dorm Roxas. I’m sorry,” Pence bowed his head apologetically, acting as if it was a somber moment.

“I had a feeling he’d do that,” Roxas scoffed, then took a few subtle sniffs of his friend.

“At least his gross cologne is drowning out the scent. You’d be in big shit if any of the old fuck’s here smelled you,” Roxas whispered softly to his two friends, coaxing a laugh out of both of them.

Roxas got his two friends out of the way of the flow of the crowd and picked a wall to hang by. They still were waiting on Riku, Kairi, and Sora. And depending on if Sora took his meds or not, they could be waiting a while.

“Thanks for getting him here on time,” Roxas said while finally greeting his other friend with a brief hug.

“Of course. We wouldn’t want to miss a chance like this. It’s pretty surreal that Axel and Demyx really came from our little high school in this ‘middle of nowhere’ town,” Pence greeted with a genuine smile, “Hayner just has a hard time prioritizing.”

“No shit,” Roxas laughed, elbowing his taller friend in the ribs discreetly, earning him a quick slap to the back of the head.

“Guys stop making a scene!” Pence hissed quietly through his laughter, him definitely being the one with the best conscious of the three of them.

Roxas and Hayner pushed each other one last time but continued to be discrete about it. 

“Fucking children...,” Pence scolded them without much intent behind his words.

“I wish Olette could sit with us,” Hayner whined, swaying back and forth with his fingers buried in his hair.

“God, how high are you?” Roxas wheezed lightly, a big, stupid grin on his face. He was a little jealous of Hayner right now.

“There they are!” Sora’s voice suddenly rang out above the murmur of the crowd, causing the three friends to wince in unison, potentially out of second-hand embarrassment.

Sora led a charge through the crowd towards Roxas and his two pals. Behind the little brunette, Kairi trailed right behind him and Riku took up the rear, sunken into his coat and clearly experiencing the same second-hand embarrassment.

“Keep it down,” Roxas hissed at his brother as he made his way over to the three of them. He then promptly smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

“Sorry! I literally had no idea where you guys were. I got excited. I’m really excited,” Sora expressed fastly while pressing his palms together in an apologetic manner.

“It’s fine,” Roxas sighed, then looked over his brother's shoulder, “How are you two doing this evening? Looking forward to the show?”

Kairi and Riku stood a pace behind Sora. They both exchanged a few greetings and gave Roxas the rundown of how much of a basketcase Sora was the half-hour before they left.

“He was acting like a high school girl who lost her Juul in her room somewhere,” Kairi giggled behind her hand, casting a look at Sora.

“Hey! That’s not right at all. At the time, it was way more serious than that,” Sora tried to explain to Roxas and his buddies.

“He tossed his wallet, which had both of our tickets in it, into his laundry bin and it disappeared to a different dimension for about twenty minutes,” Riku continued, “Either that or Sora has the memory of a goldfish.”

“Come on, stop ganging up on me,” Sora protested, clenching his fists, “I said I was sorry.”

“‘S fine babe. It was pretty funny,” Riku laughed.

“And we’re here now, so let's get ready to rock!” Kairi threw her fist up enthusiastically but then shrunk into herself with a cute giggle.

Sora laughed along tenderly, smiling between his best friend and his boyfriend.

Roxas was happy the three of them were getting along as normal again. Them being a trio is probably the most important relationship any of them with ever have. It was something that was one in a million honestly, that being three people spending most of their lives together.

“Anyway, now that we are all here, you should head up to the balcony,” Roxas gestured for his friends to follow him to a roped-off staircase, “I wanna run down and check on something backstage real quick. But you guys got permission to go up there. It’s on your ticket stubs if anyone asks.”

Roxas was referring to the quick signatures that Marluxia had scribbled on to a few tickets. These were well known as ‘VIP Tickets’, but it just meant that the friends and family of the crew and the performers can have free tickets and reserved seating.

“I’ll lead them up,” Hayner promised his friend with a lazy smile.

“Pence will lead you up there,” Roxas decided, patting Hayner’s back degradingly, “I’ll see you all in a few minutes.”

“Gotcha, see you soon,” Pence promised before leading the charge of somewhat rowdy young adults past the rope and up the carpeted stairs.

Roxas watched his friends disappear before turning on his heels and wading across the crowd to the other side. He then speed-walked down the hall that led to backstage.

As Roxas made his way down the hall, he passed another intersecting hallway. It’s only other purpose, in terms of this show, is that it had another dressing room entrance. 

Under most circumstances, Roxas would have just kept walking. But for just a moment, some simple movement caught his eye enough that he paused and backed up to the intersection.

Down this branching hallway, an older woman was walking in a sketchy manner down the length of the hall. She was dressed in a rather lavish fur coat and had her purse clutched tightly to her chest. The way she kept scanning up and down the door frames made Roxas just a tad nervous, but maybe she was just a lost, old woman.

“Hey, are you lost?” Roxas asked as he turned down the hall, feeling he probably had enough time to direct this woman in the right direction.

The lady jumped, then quickly turned to face Roxas.

“N-no. No, not at all. I’m looking for the dressing room, actually. You see, my son is performing tonight,” the lady explained simply before resuming her search.

Roxas felt a sense of unease befall him. What this woman claimed was not entirely impossible, but this was a huge claim. He was positive it wasn’t Demyx’s mom, at least.

“Listen, ma’am, you can’t be back here without permission. I’m going to have to ask you to head to the theater until we can prove your identity,” Roxas tried to be as light as possible, while also following his gut.

The woman's face quickly turned sour.

“Who are you? What right do you have to tell me that?” the woman’s voice quickly became more standoffish and pitchy.

“I work here, ma’am,” Roxas explained. He turned his hip slightly to show that his walkie talkie was still strapped to his belt, just in case he was needed at any point during the show.

“You listen here, young man. I’m here to see my son before the show. You have no right to keep me from seeing him,” the woman hissed and pointed a finger at him.

Roxas winced slightly. It had been a while since he had been confronted by the stereotypical crazy customer. And women were always the worst when it came to it. But something about this woman made him more nervous. 

He began to approach the woman calmly, “Please be cooperative. I don’t want to have to get security. If one of the performers really is your son, then we’ll make sure you get to see him.”  
And that’s when he noticed her familiarly bright, green eyes.

Roxas stopped in his tracks and zoned out enough that the woman’s next verbal assault fell on deaf ears.

There was no mistaking that this was probably Axel’s mom. People with eyes like that don’t come around very often. Plus, this is Axel’s hometown. All of the pieces just seemed to fit.

“I think... your son has a restraining order on you,” Roxas decided to casually insert into her rant.

She ran silent, and her face was agape with shock. 

“Who are you?” the woman shrieked out menacingly, “Who are you!?”

Roxas took a step back this time, completely shocked at how she reacted.

“Get out of here. You have no place in our family’s business,” Axel’s mother snapped at him, and turned back to the wall, facing the stairs that go down slightly into the dressing room.

“I’ll call the police,” Roxas said without wavering. His mouth had moved before he had time to think about how to react.

“You wouldn’t dare!” the woman hissed, “You have no right in my business.”

“Get out of here, or I WILL call the police,” Roxas slowly started to slide his hand into his ass pocket, his fingers resting on his phone within.

The woman seemed to watch him, judging if he was bluffing or not.

Roxas watched her back, pulling out his phone in the process.

“Now now, no need to be so rash, dear,” the woman’s voice flipped on a dime, “I’ll leave no worries! I’m on my way out, see?”

Roxas tensed up as the woman approached him. She had the fakest smile he had ever seen plastered on her crimson lips. The blonde was prepared to protect himself if she suddenly started beating on him, but it never happened. 

Instead, the woman just brushed past him and kept going. And by brush, it was more like a sharp jab with her boney shoulder that was strong enough to slightly shake Roxas’s balance.

As she rounded the corner towards the theater, Roxas heard her murmur under her breath.

“Disgusting, little shit.”

And then she was gone.

Roxas let out the breath that he was holding on to for a rather long time. He was glad that things didn’t have to escalate. And Axel didn’t have to deal with her being here. In fact, he didn’t even have to know if he just kept quiet about it.

“Hey, Roxy,” Axel’s voice came softly from the dressing room staircase as he made his way up to Roxas’s level.

Roxas sighed weakly, “...So you heard all of that?”

“Yeah, we all did. I mean, did you hear how shrill that bitch got?” Axel put on a laugh as he approached Roxas. 

The blonde took a second to soak in Axel’s performance outfit. He had a loose, white wife-beater, tight blue jeans, and a leather jacket. But the designer dress boots, jewelry, and the subtle makeup really completed the look.

“Sorry, I tried to handle it as best as I could,” Roxas apologized softly, “I’m sorry that she came back here and probably brought up old memories. She probably saw the advertisement for the show.”

Axel pulled the shorter man into a tight hug, gently burying his face into Roxas’s soft hair.

“You did just fine. I don’t really care anymore, honestly. But hey, thanks for protecting me, Roxy~” Axel hummed softly, seeming to not be upset in the slightest.

Roxas’s face flushed softly, and he slowly hugged Axel back.

“You look nice,” Roxas mused as he focused on the soft rise and fall of Axel’s chest.

“Fuckable?” Axel asked hopefully.

Roxas shoved him slightly but laughed at the same time.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Well, come find me after the concert and we can make it happen. That is if you’ll go out with me,” Axel joked, pulling Roxas close and speaking softly into his ear.

“After the concert, I’ll tell you my answer,” Roxas answered back, woefully pulling away from the rockstar.

Axel shrugged nonchalantly. The smirk on his lips told Roxas that he knew he had the blonde wrapped around his finger already. 

Roxas wasn’t going to admit it to the redhead's face just yet.

“By the way, I don’t want you to worry if my mom comes back around. I’ll get a hold of the police and get her into some deep shit. And these attempts won’t be the last time she’ll try to get a hold of me. Maybe I can get her locked up this time though,” Axel laughed, “Also... Olette spoke to me about your ex. I sort of understand what’s going on right now.”

Roxas paused, but he quickly shook his head dismissively.

“It’s fine. I’m actually really glad she told you. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a little while anyway. But honestly, that stuff’s behind me now. I’m ready to start moving on, you know?” Roxas admitted, saying the words out loud causing him to feel a sort of internal satisfaction.

“I do know. And I’m honestly very happy to hear that,” Axel smiled, both thankful and proud of the blonde. He then moved on by adding, “You’re going to be up on the balcony, right?”

“Yeah,” Roxas hummed, resuming eating up how Axel looked. With how he was ogling the older man, he REALLY felt like he was back in high school now.

“Which side?” Axel asked, watching him with amusement.

“Stage right, way in the upper corner of the balcony,” the blonde droned back.

“I’ll make sure to blow you a kiss,” Axel quickly swooped in and plastered a soft peck on Roxas’s slightly parted lips.

Roxas’s hand quickly darted out and grabbed Axel’s shirt, holding him in place so he could turn his head and deepen the kiss.

A moment or two passed before they separated.

Axel pointed a menacing finger at Roxas. He was smiling, but his eyes spelled a warning.

“You’re in big trouble, mister. I’m coming after you later,” Axel gave the cheeky blonde an ultimatum as he slightly adjusted his pants as emphasis.

“I just wanted to give you a little good luck kiss, you know? No harm done,” Roxas tried to be coy.

“God, you’re a flirt,” Axel purred, “But hey, you’re getting me fired up. You might just be my little good luck charm~.”

“We’ll see.” Roxas stayed aloof, “You gotta get out there though. Break a leg, okay babe?”

Axel bit his lip and shook his head, seemingly affected by the statement.

“Alright babe, I will. And I’ll be seeing YOU later,” Axel gave him a discreet wink and a slight wave before heading back down into the dressing room with a little bit of a pep to his step.

Roxas watched him go with a smile, nearly forgetting about the whole interaction with the crazy woman who was apparently the rockstar's complacent mother. Thinking about this made Roxas get slightly angry. It gave him the feeling where he wished he had said more to that woman. Gave her a more ‘colorful’ piece of his mind.

The light tech shook it off, as Axel would have, and he checked his phone lazily. Then, with a start, he realized what the time was.

The concert was going to start in four minutes, and he needed to get upstairs. Fast.

\----- One Super Awesome Amazing Concert Later! ... -----

So I met up with some friends  
At the edge of the night,  
At a bar off 75...  
And we talked and talked  
About how our parents will die,  
All our neighbors and wives...

Roxas watched Pence from behind as he began to play and sing on the synth piano they had brought out on stage post the concert. He was swaying along with his words, and a plastic cup filled with some wine cooler sat precariously next to him on the ground.

Demyx was playing along lazily with his acoustic guitar, and even Saix provided a simple beat for the pianist. Both of the band members were vibing, being amply buzzed, and seemed to be enjoying playing while being drunk.

Once the concert had ended, the crew had planned to begin striking the stage. They did have another show coming in soon, and the stage would have to be clear for that. But, Marluxia had been so moved by the upbeat and fun show, that he demanded that they host an after-party tonight inside of the theater.

Of course, ‘For Naught Baptiste’ had the chance to go to any other bar in town for the afterparty, but they seemed very intrigued by the idea to have a smaller party at the theater with the crew.

Roxas, with rosy cheeks, laughed to himself as he gloated internally about the talented and fun crew they had working here at the theater.

“What are you laughing at?” Axel mused, looking down at Roxas. The two of them, at a point where they were already decently intoxicated, had dragged the old couch out onto the stage. Then they immediately crashed on it. 

“Nothing~,” Roxas hummed back, continuing to watch Pence play with his head resting on Axel’s lap. 

The band and the crew were scattered about the stage, mingling and partying. Some especially driven people were already starting to pack up. But, it was promised that if you start drinking, you are no longer working.

“God damn Pence, you’re so good at music!” Hayner called out loudly as he flung his arms around his friend’s shoulders and leaned on to him. The obnoxious one had gone and got himself crossfaded, but this is usually what he did on a Saturday night anyway. But, Olette was doing a good job keeping him occupied and still.

Even more impressively, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were midstage playing a rather intense game of Ninja in their early twenties. They were having fun, but they also seemed to be taking it very seriously.

The blonde inwardly commended them, hoping they would never grow up.

Roxas hummed and his eyes instinctively closed as Axel began to run his long fingers through Roxas’s hair, gently massaging the blonde’s scalp.

“So, what’s your answer?” Axel asked softly.

“What?” Roxas asked, confused.

“I mean, what’s your answer in terms of going out with me?” Axel elaborated.

“Oh!” Roxas laughed and sat up. He then turned around and crawled over so he could cuddle up against the rockstar.

“Oh boy... Just so you know, I’m very sweaty,” Axel warned as he gently held Roxas. He had ditched the leather jacket during the show, but his wife-beater was still drenched with sweat.

“I don’t mind,” the blonde shrugged, “Especially since we’re gonna be dating now.”

“Sure shit!? You’re serious?!” Axel asked, eyes wide and happy. He perked up like a puppy, which made Roxas laugh slightly.

“Yeah, I mean it. Let’s give this long-distance shit a shot. Maybe we’re just... built different, you know?” Roxas shrugged, “Maybe we can make it work.”

“Of course we can make it work, babe!” Axel answered as he began to riddle Roxas’s cheek and neck with kisses, “This is like a Cinderella Esque love story. It’s meant to be.”

Roxas let out a soft whine but stifled it quickly.

“I think you’re right. It’s like a dream come true,” Roxas muttered, then breathed out a shaky breath as Axel’s inebriated state caused him to be more adventurous. 

The redhead hummed out in affirmation as he snuck his hand up Roxas’s shirt and began to ghost his fingers over his skin.

“S-stop, not around people,” Roxas whined softly, “Let’s go somewhere, okay?”

“You’re actually down?” Axel asked with hopefulness again. He seemed bewildered by the sudden shift in Roxas’s attitude.

“Of course. If I don’t get the shit fucked out of me, what will I have to remember you by?” Roxas answered, sounding as genuine as he possibly could.

Axel let out a wheeze, “That’s hot as fuck. Wanna go up?” 

The redhead pointed upwards as emphasis.

“Let’s head to the light booth,” Roxas affirmed with equal vigor and grabbed Axel’s hand.

The redhead nodded quickly and eagerly.

The two of them locked hands and discreetly got off the couch. They smiled at each other snarkily as they snuck off the stage as quickly as they possibly could, them being two drunk men.

Hayner idly watched Roxas and Axel sneak off stage, holding each other's hands and snickering at each other like two giddy kids.

The inebriated man had to laugh to himself as they disappeared. His foggy mind caused him to openly whisper, “Damn, that was pretty gay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music References:  
> "Carry On" - By .fun
> 
> \---
> 
> And that's the end!  
> I hope you all enjoyed 'A Week and A Half 'Til Showtime'  
> It was a little passion project of mine I started about half a year ago.  
> As of writing this, this fic has over 450 hits!  
> And I'm more than satisfied with that number.   
> I'd like to also give one last thanks to my beta reader, Jinx.  
> Without them, my fic would be riddled with misspellings.
> 
> Once again, thank you all for coming around to read this fic.  
> I hope you have a wonderful life, and stay safe !  
> \- JuiceCSushi
> 
> Wait a minute...  
> Why does it say there's still one chapter left...


	12. Sunday: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concert has come and gone. Many months have passed since then...

It was a Sunday like any other.

Roxas sat on his spot on the couch and brought his iced coffee up to his lips. Next to him, Sora and Riku occupied the same amount of space as they hardly ever separated anymore.

“Seriously guys, this isn’t like him,” Roxas mumbled tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his weary eyes.

“You know the tour just ended. He’s probably really busy and just adjusting. Give him a few more days,” Sora tried to quell his brother's worries as he got his head scratched by his lover.

“You’re one to talk... you don’t have a care in the world right now,” Roxas grumbled as he brought out his phone in a sulking manner.

Roxas’s thoughts were consumed by the whereabouts of his boyfriend. He wasn’t missing, thank god, since people were still talking to him. But for some reason, he wasn’t talking to Roxas. Not at all.

The blonde's stomach turned with a dull pang of deja vu. But not the good kind.

It was a little over a year since the concert that had reunited Roxas with Axel. It was a night to remember, and the start of their official relationship. And so far, it has been going way better than Roxas had ever expected. 

The two of them talked daily, they made sure of it. Axel had also convinced Roxas to finally get himself a Twitter and forced him to post often so that Axel could see what he was up to. Axel did the same for Roxas without him having to ask. Phone and video calls also happened weekly and were often the highlight of Roxas’s week. It was a strange, new, and frankly, fun experience and the two of them were going all out with it. They were quick to turn it into a sort of big gimmick.

Beyond that, Roxas had also graduated from college, and Axel was just ending his second tour. Roxas was living with Sora and Riku now. He took over Sora’s room and Sora moved into Riku’s room. Like he had said, it was bound to happen at some point. In terms of a career, he had no fucking clue. He was still working for the theater and making a decent enough wage just doing that.

A lot of time had passed, but things were going pretty well. He had a hot as fuck, rockstar boyfriend just a click away, a job he enjoyed, a roof over his head and he was feeling pretty secure. Despite all of this, Roxas was feeling quite empty at the moment. He needed something more, and he realized that what he really wanted was Axel to be around again. And his prayers were just about to be answered since Axel’s tour had ended.

But for some reason, Axel completely stopped talking to him altogether.

Roxas sunk into himself.

He knew he had no reason to worry. They hadn’t had any relationship issues yet, so there was no reason for Axel to break up with him.

Yet, Roxas had felt the same way before too. Years and years ago. 

This fact just made him nauseous.

“Relax Roxas, just wait a little bit longer,” Riku reiterated Sora’s sentiment.

“How about you two try and keep it down at night now that you have another roommate?” Roxas hissed back, grasping at any straw he could use to clap back.

Sora snickered slightly.

“He’s just a little ornery since he hasn’t been dicked in over a year,” Riku responded snarkily.

“Awe, don’t go there babe,” Sora pleaded, looking at his brother apologetically.

Riku wasn’t wrong. It was true that he hadn’t had actual sex since the concert. I mean, nothing could have even compared anyway. That night was magical. Plus, he really didn’t have any reason to seek sex from anyone else, even if Axel had reluctantly expressed that he was okay with it if Roxas needed it. But Roxas and Axel used the internet to their advantage when it came to sexual shit. The fact that they have been apart for so long had caused them to get creative, and it kept things interesting.

Still, Roxas had longed to be touched by his boyfriend since the day he left.

“You don’t need to rub the fact that you’re a nympho in my face. Especially you Sora, you need to calm down,” Roxas chided.

Sora apologetically shrugged, not going to deny it.

Roxas groaned long and loud, putting his face in his hands. 

“Are neither of you seriously worried about the fact that Axel might be ditching me like my ex did?” The blonde suddenly blurted out.

Sora and Riku both shook their heads like it wasn’t even a question.

“That guy never shuts up about you. If he breaks up with you, I’ll start believing in God again,” the silver-haired tattoo artist said before he planted a kiss on Sora’s nose.

Sora beamed at the tender action, which encouraged Riku to peck his nose once again.

"I hate it here," Roxas grumbled under his breath before biting down on his straw.

From the kitchen, a few sure, rhythmic knocks resounded on the front door. 

“I think you should go get that. You know, to get your mind off of it,” Riku offered with a gesture.

“Why me?” Roxas protested.

Riku just pulled Sora close in his lap and looked at the blonde like it was blatantly obvious.

Roxas sighed heavily and presented Riku the bird before getting off of the couch and heading to the front door.

Without much thought, he swung it open.

For the doorway, Axel looked down at Roxas with surprise.

And Roxas looked back with an expression akin to that of the redheads.

“Uh... surprise!” Axel blurted out, quickly dropped his bags, and threw up some jazz hands.

“W-what are you doing here? Why haven’t you been texting me!” Roxas immediately shrieked, not wasting any time calling him out.

“Well, it was supposed to be a surprise when I was coming back, but then things happened and I got kind of distracted. So the surprise kinda... felt flat,” Axel admitted, looking to his smaller boyfriend apologetically.

Roxas quickly stepped forward and wrapped Axel in a tight squeeze.

“I’d be mad if I didn’t know you were fucking stupid,” Roxas laughed dryly, “Thank god you’re a wonderful guy despite it.”

Axel hugged his boyfriend back and lifted him in the air slightly. 

“Good to see you again too, Roxy,” Axel whispered into Roxas’s ear, brushing his lips against the shell and drinking in his familiar scent.

The redhead set Roxas down and recollected his things. 

“Do you mind if I put my shit in your room? I might be there... for a while,” Axel asked sheepishly, with an equally sheepish smile.

“Really?!” Roxas said excitedly, then shrunk slightly, “You’re gonna have to clear that with Riku.”

“Already have,” Axel assured.

“Really?” Roxas asked again, “So you mean Riku knew you were coming?”

“Yep,” Axel revealed, “But I told him not to tell you.”

“You’re all in huge trouble now, but I’ll chew you out later. Come in, let's go to my room,” Roxas expressed as he gestured for Axel to follow him into the apartment.

The two of them passed into the kitchen and then into the living room area where Riku and Sora were.

“Surprise!” The two of them chanted from the couch.

“Fuck both of you. I’ll deal with you later. But I’m going to go make out with my boyfriend for a little bit, so we'll have to catch up later,” Roxas deadpanned to his roommates as he made a beeline for his room.

Axel shrugged to the other two men with a sly smile and followed Roxas into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Roxas crawled onto his bed and quickly gestured for Axel to come over and join him.

“You can unpack later,” Roxas insisted.

“Someone’s 'eager' is showing,” Axel cooed as he dropped his things. He then joined the blonde on the bed, immediately pulling him towards his chest. He was quick to lock their lips and rub his hands over the smaller man’s frame, feeling up his body which he hadn’t touched in forever.

“You’re still pretty bulky kid,” Axel hummed, purposely rubbing his hands over Roxas’s tits, massaging them.

Roxas groaned softly, openly letting Axel touch him.

“Yep. Hayner is still training me,” Roxas stated simply, dizzily letting Axel continue to feel him up.

“You’re also probably a little high, aren’t you?” Axel coddled as he pulled Roxas in for a kiss while also leaning back.

Roxas pressed into Axel’s kiss and fell onto his chest.

The two of them took their sweet time getting used to the taste of each other’s mouths again. But they also were quick to start grinding into each other, finally getting the friction they’ve been missing.

“W-wait Roxas, I need to talk to you first,” Axel expressed in between deep kisses. He also let out a soft moan as Roxas didn’t relent.

Axel eventually had to hold him back.

“Holy shit little man, you gotta chill out for a second. I’m gonna end up busting before I get out of my pants,” Axel laughed weakly, holding Roxas back.

“Sorry. I just missed you a lot,” Roxas murmured with a slight pout, "Maybe I am being a little bit too overzealous. You did just get back...”

“Sometimes, you act just like Sora. It’s like you’re the same person,” Axel laughed, pecking Roxas’s cheek.

“You’re... not wrong,” Roxas admitted weakly.

Axel looked over Roxas’s face, taking in the features once again.

“Roxas, Like I said, I’m probably going to be around a lot more often,” Axel then sucked in a deep breath, “For Naught Baptiste is getting disbanded.”

“What!” Roxas shrieked, jutting upwards and causing Axel to grunt.

“Y-yep. We’re donezo,” Axel admitted sadly.

“Why? Why in the world...? You guys were getting really big!” Roxas exclaimed with utter disbelief, grabbing on to the front of Axel's shirt for any sort of purchase.

“That’s exactly why,” Axel started, then retracted his statement, “actually, the real reason is that Zexion couldn’t take it anymore. He quit, and we all mutually decided to hang it up. Demyx is moving back home, I’m moving in with you, and Xigbar is going to help Saix get picked up somewhere else. And that’s just how it’s going to be.”

Roxas was a little stunned by this new information. 

“Really? That's it? That’s the end?” Roxas asked.

“Yep. It sucks, but what else can we do?” Axel admitted with a slight shake of his head, “We all knew this could happen at any point. I guess we just didn’t think it was going to end so quickly after it took off.”

Roxas sat quietly, thinking to himself.

The redhead simply watched his boyfriend, letting him soak in the news.

“Can’t you just get a new bass player?” Roxas asked.

Axel couldn’t help but crack a wide, expecting smile, “Oh yeah, we definitely could. We’ve actually discussed it.”

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of Axel’s strange reaction. He then thought to himself inwardly for a moment.

“What about me?” Roxas asked.

Axel pulled Roxas into a tight squeeze.

“I was hoping you’d ask!” Axel called out, “But I wasn’t going to ask... seeing as you graduated college and you love your job.”

“Are you kidding me?” Roxas asked, a blurb of laughter coming up, “I’ve always dreamt of being a rockstar. And my degree really means nothing to me. At least I have it, you know?”

Axel kissed Roxas’s cheek a few times as he responded, “Exactly. But hey, I’m not even joking. Saix wanted me to ask you if you were interested. We’d have to conduct a proper audition for Xigbar and Saix, of course, but you’re honestly the only person Saix recommended, corroborated by Demyx and me. You’re kind of our only hope.”

Roxas looked up to Axel with wide, happy eyes, “Are you serious?”

“As serious as I’ll ever be,” Axel promised.

“Yeah. I’ll do it,” Roxas said it like it was a no-brainer, “I want to try out.”

The guitarist pulled his boyfriend for another deep kiss.

“Thank god,” Axel mused thankfully, “But... how about we sort this out later.”

The redhead gripped Roxas’s muscular hips and ground his own hips upwards into Roxas’s, revealing as the blonde let out a soft whine and worked to reciprocate the movement.

“I keep getting reminded of how sexy you are,” Axel expressed as he hooked his fingers in Roxas’s sweatpants, “Sometimes I just happen to forget, you know?”

“Fuck you,” Roxas breathed as he ground his hips into Axel’s repeatedly, revealing in the friction and the fact that he was feeling Axel’s erection growing in his joggers.

“That was a joke baby, come on,” Axel teased as he stretched up and began to kiss and suck Roxas’s neck. At the same time, he worked Roxas’s sweatpants and boxers down, horny enough to not want to wait too long.

“Can I... show you how hard I’ve been working out?” Roxas asked innocently, beginning to remove Axel’s shirt as he spoke.

Axel helped him ditch the shirt and in turn, he was granted the ability to completely remove Roxas’s pants and underwear. All of the clothing was ditched off the bed and onto the floor.

“How so?” Axel asked, wasting no time and wrapping his long fingers around Roxas’s cock. Of course, It was hard as hell by this point.

The blonde whimpered and fucked himself up into Axel’s fist, enjoying the contact of his boyfriend's hand after so long. It was blissful having it not be his own hand for once.

“Let me ride you,” Roxas offered, “I’ll make sure you’ll love it.”

“No shit I’ll love it,” Axel laughed, reaching his other hand to grip at Roxas’s toned ass.

Roxas pulled off his own shirt as he continued to fuck himself into Axel’s hand. He was playing a dangerous game, but it just felt so good.

“Can you get the lube and the condoms from the drawer?” Roxas asked, already breathless. He was still very preoccupied getting off using Axel’s hand with a vigor that almost surprised himself.

“Yeah, sure,” Axel murmured, very intently watching his boyfriend pleasure himself using his gripped hand. It had to be one of the hottest things he had ever seen. He was happy that weeks on end of video sex had quickly gotten rid of Roxas’s shame.

The redhead switched hands and used his newly freed hand to pull the drawer open. Inside, there was a thing of lube, various toys, and an unopened box of condoms.

Axel took note of this, and simply mused, “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too,” Roxas breathed back. He then added, “Want to prep me a little?”

“Of course I do,” Axel expressed as he pulled out the lube and condom box, “Turn around quick.”

Roxas reluctantly removed his weeping cock from Axel’s hand and turned so he was still straddling Axel, but was instead facing the other way. 

“Does this work?” Roxas asked as he looked over his shoulder at the man behind him.

“Ohoho yeah,” Axel looked up at Roxas’s broad shoulders, slim waist, and toned ass cheeks, “This is a great view.”

“Thanks. I’ve really been working hard,” Roxas beamed proudly. He then turned back around and began to free Axel’s straining dick from its cloth prison.

Axel tried his best to distract himself from Roxas’s hands as they began to remove him from his pants. He lathered his fingers up with a decent amount of lube and wasted no time beginning to work them up into Roxas’s tight ass.

The smaller blonde groaned quietly and leaned forward slightly, giving his boyfriend more room to work. He was equally as busy giving ample attention to Axel’s neglected cock.

Because of this, it didn’t take Axel long to casually slide in a statement as he felt the glimpses of his climax already starting to manifest.

“Hey, I think you’re ready and I’m not going to be able to hold on very long if you keep working me like that,” Axel admitted, which devolved into a moan. He involuntarily threw his head back as Roxas teasingly ran his thumb over his slit.

Roxas quickly and carefully turned around. He then took his sweet time opening up the condom box and removing one of the condoms. He reached down and gently slid one over the length of Axel’s penis. Finally, he guided the cock to his entrance.

“Fuck, it’s been so long,” Roxas breathed.

“Then why are you staling?” Axel asked simply, and without much warning, finishing guiding himself up into Roxas’s ass.

Roxas cried out and arched his back. But, instead of reprimanding Axel, he instead started to work himself on the redhead’s dick, taking more and more into himself without an inch of inhibition whatsoever.

“H-holy shit Roxy,” Axel breathed out as Roxas bounced on his cock. The eager blonde used both of his hands to brace himself, his palms resting on Axel’s shoulders. His own cock was bouncing in time.

“Fuck, you can go so much deeper,” Roxas commented as he continued to move, his thigh and able muscles flexing as he moved.

Axel took his hands and began to rub them over Roxas’s chest, gripping his chest muscles and running his thumbs over the blonde’s perky nipples.

This encouraged the blonde, and he whimpered needily at the touch of the rockstar. These actions, coupled with the sexy faces Axel was making while he was getting ridden, were the perfect storm to make the bassist incredibly horny.

“Let me stroke your cock,” Axel hummed, reaching down to wrap his fingers around Roxas once more, pumping him vigorously the moment he had a good enough grip.

Roxas groaned out loudly at this, not necessarily caring if Sora and Riku heard or not. They were pretty open about everything at this point anyway.

“Stay focused on me,” Axel commanded as he gave a particular sharp thrust up into Roxas’s hole.

The blonde lurched forward, bracing himself on Axel’s chest. He continued to consistently cry out as Axel began to rock his world in tandem with his own thrusts.

“F-fuck... Oh fuck, I’m cumming already!” Roxas screamed out, his entire body beginning to tense as his climax rushed to fruition. He couldn't help but convulse wildly as he spilled his cum all over his boyfriend’s hand.

Axel watched the display with pure splendor, and he continued to jerk the blonde off through his violent orgasm. Feeling his boyfriend’s hole twitch around him as he came was the final straw in sending Axel reeling. 

Axel dropped Roxas’s cock and gripped both of Roxas’s hips before doing a few, strong thrusts. He made sure he was as buried as deep as he could be before he came deep into Roxas’s thoroughly fucked ass.

The two of them were left speechless for a while, simply because neither of them could catch their breath.

Roxas’s sweaty chest rubbed up against Axel as he laid against him, allowing himself to finally collect himself enough.

“Wow,” Axel chimed in breathily, still recovering.

“Having sex with you is literally one of the best things on Earth, I’m certain of it at this point,” Roxas whispered into the redhead’s ear.

“Oh yeah?” Axel asked, having liked hearing that knowledge, “Well then, there’s plenty more than that coming your way. Especially as we start spending all of our time together.”

Roxas liked that idea. A lot. 

The blonde then seemed to finally soak the circumstances in. 

Axel was back in the flesh, and he wasn't ever going to be leaving him behind ever again. If Roxas got accepted into For Naught Baptiste, that is. It was a nerve-wracking feeling knowing a really important audition was going to be in his near future, but something about the afterglow of sex made him feel like he had nothing to worry about. And something about seeing Axel's sexy, memorable features up close once again was causing more desire to stir within him.

“...Wanna take a quick power nap and go for another round?” Roxas asked genuinely with a tilt of his head.

“That’s, honestly, a great idea. I could really use a nap,” Axel smiled, removing his cock from his boyfriend’s fucked hole. He then removed the condom, cleaned up his cock, and tossed all of the mess towards the garbage can. And missed.

With a nonchalant shrug, Axel removed his joggers and boxers fully before climbing back into the bed with Roxas. 

“Of yeah, that's the ticket...” Axel expressed with a satisfied sigh as he pulled Roxas’s muscular form to his chest, “Oh and, technicalities aside, welcome to the band.”

“Thanks, babe. I’m excited to start working with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Folks!
> 
> I hope this year is more promising than the last.  
> But with that being said, here is how I have decided to kick off the new year.
> 
> This is just a little extra thing I decided to write.  
> But I planned for it ever since the start.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the final part of A Week and A Half 'Til Showtime !  
> And I hope to see you around in the future !
> 
> \- JuiceCSushi


End file.
